At seven years old, Joshua Goldenberg questioned why there wasn't braille available for him to shop along side everyone else in his family. His immediate response was...
"I want to braille the entire universe... and Target too!"
And so, The Joshua Project began it's journey by placing braille labels on store shelves, with the goal that any blind person will have the ability to walk through a store and be able to shop independently.
The project first began in Thousand Oaks with the help of Whole Foods Market and its
wonderful marketing team led by Ashley Eaton. It quickly gained the
attention of the National Braille Press in Boston where Joshua traveled
with his family to accept the prestigious "Hands on Award". While
visiting Boston, the National Braille Press joined forces with Whole
Foods in Newtonville to open up the same Braille initiative on the East
coast. Only three months later, Whole Foods invited Joshua to "open"
his third Whole Foods market by placing Braille on the aisles and
produce throughout the store. With the support of local charities,
friends, family and generous donations, the Foundation is looking forward to
bringing the Braille labeling to not only three Whole Foods Markets, but
many more in the future. We are now in the process of developing a
"directory" for each store as well.
With the help of his family, (Sister Hannah, Mom Christie,
and Dad Evan), Joshua has quickly brought attention to the need for Braille
not only in grocery stores, but everywhere and has revisited the
question, "Why hasn't anyone ever thought of this before?"
The foundation's long term goal is to help bring the
awareness to the importance of Braille and provide Braille labeling
wherever necessary. Eventually, leading back to the children in the
schools where Braille literacy begins.
This blog will keep you informed about The Joshua Project Foundation, and will also serve as a resource in the blind community.
