ABLE - Audio Braille Literacy Enhancement

03/12/2026

Dear ABLE Friends:

One of our amazing colleagues, Sandy Rowley, first a braille volunteer and then the Braille Services Coordinator who was with ABLE (formerly VSVH) for over 35 years, has passed away.

Find a link to her obituary below.

She trained and coached many braille volunteers and was responsible for thousands and thousands of braille pages through her many years of dedicated service to this organization.

Here are a few comments from those who worked with her.

"She was my braille teacher in 2004 from September to May 2005. I received lots of one-on-one attention, many times. meeting her at an office on 6th and Virginia with one other student at first. She was a wonderful teacher, the best. I loved the one-on-one teaching, a dream come true!

I have a blue cloth bag she gave me with braille on the outside ... with English underneath. It says:

'Readers are a touch above the rest!'

She also gave me a blue "Rubik's Cube" key chain with braille dots."

- Lenore (still volunteering today)

"Sandy was an excellent teacher and a warm thoughtful friend. She was also very patient with us. She has a warm place in my heart."

- Barb, (still volunteering today, with us since 1997)

"Sandy was such a mentor for me. So kind and encouraging. I have fond memories of meeting at her apartment with her and her husband during his illness and with her dad. And also meeting at Bakers Square a couple times. We exchanged Christmas cards. She will be missed."

- Former Staff Person

I spoke with Sandy last autumn in preparing for our 60th anniversary celebration. She had so many fond memories of ABLE and the staff, recipients, and volunteers with whom she worked. I sensed when we hung up I had made her day. We have so much to be grateful for in all Sandy did for ABLE, formerly VSVH.

My deepest condolences to Sandy’s family

Sincerely,
Cheryl Orgas

Wife of the late Richard. Sister of Nancy Maliborski and Kathleen Weber. Preceded in death by her parents Alex and Gertrude Kubach and...

03/11/2026

The Fabulous ABLE Sound Center -

I would like to acknowledge National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. Established in 1931, they celebrated 95 years of service on Tuesday, the 3rd of March.

02/16/2026

Get Ex Fabula Events in your calendar - it's so fun and impactful! -

I am excited to share with you events happening at Ex Fabula this spring. I loved attending one of Ex Fabula’s classes on learning to do story telling. It was fun to practice and to hear the stories of others. Going to one of their events is so powerful.

02/05/2026

Dear ABLE Friends:

I am delighted to share a photo of two of our ABLE Board Members Xinyue Hippe and Guadalupe Torrijos, who are attending Hamilton at the Marcus Center with Julie Hapeman, ABLE 2024 award winner.

We have been making programs in braille and large print for the Marcus Center for well over 20 years. Thank you Marcus Center for being such a tremendous partner and for taking accessibility seriously for blind and print disabled individuals.

Cheryl Orgas

Photo of Xinyue and Guadalupe with their programs in braille at Hamilton.

Photo of Julie Hapeman with her ABLE Award from 2024.

02/02/2026

Dear ABLE Friends:

I would like to highlight some of our audio volunteers today.

In the ABLE Sound Center, we have read the Alexandra Ivy Series for the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library.

All our ABLE narrators did a fabulous job. I so enjoyed this series. See below how many times each book was released and take note of the hours each volunteer has given since their start date as volunteers at ABLE.

"Don’t Look": 514 downloads or cartridges released. Read by Tiffany Tinsey who gave 494 hours since 2021.

"Faceless": 330 downloads or cartridges released. Read by Jan Beaton who gave 241 hours since 2021. Sadly Jan is deceased. She was an excellent reader. Our deepest condolences to her family.

"Unstable": 997 downloads or cartridges released. ead by Neil Jaehnert who gave 154 hours since 2021.

"Desperate Acts": 785 downloads or cartridges released. Read by Merete Mohs who gave 538 hours since 2019.

"Murder Club": 1164 downloads or cartridges released. Read by Kathy Herbst who gave 324 hours since 2016.

Warmly,
Cheryl Orgas

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01/28/2026

Dear ABLE friends:

Please share this exciting opportunity.

Cheryl Orgas

Friends!

I have some EXCITING NEWS to share about the upcoming production of Broadway’s Kimberly Akimbo!

First off, I am excited to announce that the tour has agreed to do a Tactile Tour for this show before the Thursday evening performance on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12th. WOOOO!!! 😊

But wait…here’s the REALLY amazing part! The touring company has agreed to do this specific Tactile Tour ON STAGE!!! Yes—you heard that correctly…for this experience we will all be heading up ONTO OVERTURE HALL STAGE!!! (Kind of like what we did for WICKED a few months ago—and what we were SUPPOSED to do for Hamilton!) Joining us will be artists from the show who will help guide guests through various elements of the set, set pieces, props, and costumes from the show. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to understand the world of the show from the same perspective the cast and crew does each night—right smack dab in the middle of Overture Hall Stage! How awesome is that??? Actress Emily Koch who plays Aunt Debra in the show will be leading the on-stage tour.

I really hope you can join us for this tactile experience—which as usual—is totally free, and exclusive—just for YOU!

To accommodate the tour’s request for timing on this specific experience—we are conducting the tour at a little different time than we typically do that day. The Tactile tour for Kimberly Akimbo will begin at 6:15 PM on stage that evening—and will last approximately 30 minutes—meaning that those of you who are staying for the audio description that evening will need to have your devices ready to go—because when the tour is over—we will want to take you right into the theatre to be seated for Heather’s Introductory Notes which will start at 7:15 PM. To make sure that you all have devices, headphones, and that we have enough time to get folks into the theatre that evening—we are asking all tour participants to arrive at 5:45 PM on Thursday, February 12th. Please plan to meet me at the Accessible Kiosk in the Main Rotunda—just off the State Street entrance as you enter the building. From there, Heather and I will take you all backstage for the tour! In order to better manage expectations this time around, I want to tell you that the tour has advised us to have shoe covers and towels on-hand should it be a very snowy or rainy day again—which we will have for you—and there is a small chance that the tour could get moved off the stage and into a different space if the weather is really awful. The timing will not change however, so you can be confident that the tour will take place either way!

Take care everyone, and we all look forward to having you join us in a few weeks for this AWESOME opportunity! 😊

Overture Center for the Arts

Overture Center features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and five galleries where Broadway tours, national and international touring artists, nine resident companies and hundreds of local artists engage people in nearly 700,000 educational and artistic experiences each year.

01/23/2026

Dear ABLE Friends:

Come join me at The Gathering Place and vote for ABLE!

This fabulous Wisconsin tradition was started over two years ago. You can cast votes for your favorite nonprofit and join others at a local establishment. Whether you have a beer and or a nonalcohol drink, the company is great.

Maybe I will see you next Thursday night.

Warmly,
Cheryl

Details:

I hope you'll be able to join us for the kick-off of the 2026 Drinking for Good season. It's always more fun when you come.

Thursday January 29th
The Gathering Place Brewing Company
811 E. Vienna Ave.
Milwaukee 53212
4:30-6:30

The Gathering Place has been a generous supporter of our work and will contribute an additional "$ for Milwaukee" for every pint sold in both the Riverwest and Wauwatosa taprooms on January 29th to this month's Drinking for Good winner.

If you can't make it this time, consider using Venmo to give your favorite organization a chance to win the pot. Venmo ahead -Pritchard-20
and include the name of your favorite organization and we'll fill out your ballots for you.

Mark your calendar for Wednesday February 25th and join us at South Shore Yacht Club

Don't forget to check the website for schedules, updates and volunteer opportunities at

We'd love to have you there in person but If you can’t join us this time and want to make sure your nonprofit has a chance to be the lucky winner, you can VENMO  -pritchard-20. 

01/22/2026

Dear ABLE Friends:

Karen, ABLE’s Office Manager, and I attended the New Berlin Lions Club parade of checks last night. We were pleased to accept a check from this most active Lions Club, the club famous for the corn roast at the Wisconsin State Fair. In fact, Karen and a team of volunteers and ABLE Board Members worked the corn roast last summer. We much appreciate this support creating access to the printed word for blind and print disabled individuals.

With warmest regards and much appreciation,
Cheryl Orgas

12/11/2025

We can't do our work without you -

As we come to the close of a very busy year at ABLE we need your help. As donors you are helping ABLE make a difference in the lives of blind and print-disabled individuals one braille page at a time, one tactile at a time, one audio page at a time. Volunteers are at the heart of what ABLE does, and...

12/04/2025

Audio recording of the autumn ABLE Newsletter -

Copyright (C) 2025 Audio & Braille Literacy Enhancement (ABLE). All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:Want to change how you receive these emails?You can update your preferences or unsubscribe

12/02/2025

ABLE Autumn newsletter hot off the press -

Our 60th year in service to blind and print disabled individuals has been busy and productive. Enjoy reading all about this monumental milestone - 60 years strong.

11/25/2025

We were delighted to give the staff from Wehr Nature Center a tour of ABLE’s office. Carly, Emily and Holly were able to see first hand our braille process, some of our very cool tactiles, and the ABLE Sound Center where their material will be recorded. We look forward to making braille, tactiles and audio recordings to be enjoyed by those people who are blind or print disabled who visit the beautiful Wehr Nature Center. We’ve been there twice. What a wonderful place to get in touch with nature.

Cheryl Orgas