Blog

This is an extraordinary time to be focused on technology in the service of social good. New apps and tools are being developed every day to help solve the world’s most pressing challenges, from education and environment to health and poverty. We’re thrilled to see so much energy and creativity being dedicated to this “technology-for-good” global movement, especially during pioneering events like Taproot Foundation’s Pro Bono Week! During this week, we’re excited to further support this impact by joining the Taproot Foundation Pro Bono Marketplace and introducing SocialCoding:ProBono.

The Kojo Nnamdi Show, a live talk show produced by public radio station WAMU 88.5 in Washington DC, featured our CEO, Jim Fruchterman, in a conversation about the next generation of digital books. Jim described how e-books make it possible to provide more content, in more ways, to more people. He also spoke about the Big Data promise of enhanced e-books.

In this third installment of our blog series marking National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we’d like to share highlights from the Palo Alto White Cane Awareness Walk, in which we participated last Wednesday, October 16th. This annual event is held each October on or in proximity to White Cane Safety Day, a national observance celebrating the ability of people with impaired vision to lead independent lives. Last week, for the fourth consecutive year, Benetech and Bookshare proudly supported the White Cane Awareness Walk tradition in Palo Alto and we were delighted to join this celebration in partnership with the Palo Alto Lions Club, Vista Center and the Western Blind Rehabilitation Center (WBRC), the event’s host.

The San Francisco Chronicle featured our CEO, Jim Fruchterman, among a select number of top social entrepreneurs championing positive social change. The article, titled “Meet the Innovators,” recounts Benetech’s story.

The summer when I was 14, I got fired from my first volunteer job because, over time, the company managers learned that I was blind. The only thing I could do was to be more determined than ever to compete in the world of future employment alongside workers without disabilities. Today that’s exactly what I’m doing. The thing that makes my employment experience at Benetech so fulfilling is that I’m part of a vibrant, dedicated and brilliant team consisting of both disabled and nondisabled folks who truly believe in the work we do and who strive each day to make the world a little better than it was the day before. And, in the end, I think that’s what all of us–disabled or not–want from our jobs.