Louis Braille School

Nathan and Julie Brannon generously donated a piano to the Louis Braille School on July 6th of this year and, just ten days later, a happy group comprised of Louis Braille School summer Braille Camp children, their teacher and her assistants, gathered close to the instrument for a spirited songfest that included renditions of everything from ‘I’ve Been Working on the Railroad’ to ‘Louie, Louie.’

Fortunately for all, one of the camp assistants this year is Suzanne Taylor, an accomplished piano player who graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in music theory history. She currently teaches piano and occasionally performs in public.

“It was so much fun,” she said when asked how she liked playing for the campers. “It was great watching them getting into the music and laughing. It’s wonderful to see everyone interacting and being so creative.”

Campers improvised rhyming couplets as they sang ‘Down By the Bay’ and rollicked their way through ‘She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain.’

“I think the kids enjoyed having an official accompaniment to go with their music,” said assistant Jess Cummings, a trained vocalist. “It added a different dimension from the ones they were used to.”

Morgan, one of the campers, had a wooden maraca that she made at camp and shook as she sang. Other campers were handed plastic eggs filled with pebbles to serve as their percussive instruments.

“It was really fun and kind of cool to see them all excited about the music and do the shakers,” said camp volunteer Amber O’Hara

Teacher Beckie let the children choose the songs they sang. “They feel they have more control that way and they have more fun,” she said.

“Yeah,” said camper Brett, “it was cool singing songs.”

Fun, Academics, Independence

Water Wars were a big hit on the last day of the Louis Braille School 2008 summer program that we call Braille Camp. Children would sneak up on each other before tossing small amounts of water and laughing with pure delight. One boy sitting in a wheelchair laughed with his fellow campers, and they laughed with him. Then they went a step further. They got him wet, too. And he laughed even harder.

One of the camp girls worked under the patient instruction of a Braille Camp teacher, pressing the proper keys on a brailler, then moving her fingertips over the dots she had created. Before camp ended, the little girl proudly and loudly said, “I can’t believe I brailled the whole alphabet!”

Another child, eager to learn new skills leading to independence, worked hard during shoe-tying class. One day when her mother arrived to pick her up, our camper enthusiastically announced, “I learned to tie my shoes all by myself.”

Playing Basketball at Braille Camp

We Need Your Help

Tuition for this special camp is $250 per child, but that doesn’t come close to covering the actual cost of the program. The camp, carefully adapted for children who have visual impairments and other challenges, requires about $5,000 for the two-week program.

Your financial donation will help pay for a highly qualified and experienced camp teacher, along with the equipment, the facility, crafts and academic materials, and other items the children need.

Experienced teen aged volunteers, who earn community service hours they need for graduation, provide one-on-one help and are a vital part of the program.

No child is turned away because of financial need. Your support eases the deficit that partial or waived tuition income creates in relation to the essential, responsibly managed $5,000 budget.

A Proven Success

2009 marks the 11th consecutive year of Braille Camp. Our traditions include a visit from puppies in training to be Guide Dogs for the Blind, sing-a-longs with a former member of the internationally celebrated Steve Miller Band, making time for braille reading and writing, math, language arts, daily living skills, and forming friendships. This year’s campers will also play soccer, with rules adapted to every child’s needs, and wear tie-dyed team shirts they will have made at camp.

Every July, some campers travel long distances to Edmonds, Washington, where the Louis Braille School is located.

Using a Brailler

Opening day is fast approaching

Camp begins on July 13th and runs through July 24th, Monday through Friday, from 10 am to 2 pm. Children bring a sack lunch. Special snacks are furnished.

Parents tell us their children count the days to camp, impatient for it to start, eager to learn, play, greet old friends and make new ones at a camp designed especially for them.

Picture a child with special needs at summer camp, laughing and having fun like a “regular kid.” Won’t you help make that picture come to life?

A former camper described Braille Camp this way:

“You guys do it right. Here, everything is for everyone.”

Donate Now

Please, will you help with all or a portion of the $5,000 to help make this special camp possible?

Those who financially support the camp will be featured on our website, in our newsletter, and in camp literature as sponsors of Braille Camp 2009.

You can make a donation by writing a check payable to Louis Braille School and mailing it to

Louis Braille School
10130 Edmonds Way
Edmonds, WA 98020

You can make a donation onlne through our secure PayPal account by clicking the donate button.

See our Wish List for soccer balls, art supplies, and other specific items we need for camp.

Thank you!

Please contact us for more information.

The Louis Braille School is approved by the Washington State Board of Education and is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Donations are tax-deductible. Federal Tax ID Number is 91-2096022.