I couldn't create a better volunteer experience if I tailored it myself. The office is well organized, and the staff and volunteers are among the most dedicated and intelligent people I've encountered in a long time. (And they're nice, too.) I record books or edit the recordings of others, and I feel that I'm making a real difference to people who need what I do; I also learn so much in the process. The work done by this organization is truly extraordinary, and it is gratifying to be a part of it.
Pleasant supervisor and work conditions. I volunteer by proof listening to recorded books and
ensuring high quality accuracy.
It is fulfilling to volunteer and giving back to society.
I have been a volunteer in the JBI recording studio for 12+ years. It is the most fulfilling volunteer experience I have ever had. The work is extremely interesting and very rewarding, the staff members are terrific, and I have become good friends with my recording partner. I feel terrific every time I leave the studio, knowing that I have helped a visually impaired person "read."
I've been a volunteer at JBI for over 10 years and it has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. The staff are delightful, friendly helpfull -- and they really appreciate their volunteers and value their time. The volunteers are bright, friendly, interesting people who are a pleasure to work with. The work is fun and gratifying and I really feel as though I'm opening a new world of books and magazines to people and keeping them in touch with the world.
I love this experience. I believe that books are the eyes of the future. By recording books, I can provide those eyes and make great works available to others. And JBI is the best! You are respected and you have the opportunity to learn so much from everyone who works and volunteers there. It is a chance to give back in a way that is meaningful. I am so grateful to JBI.
To find an organization comprised of such caring, concerned, generous people is rare. The fact that these people are also knowledgeable, highly skilled, and cuttting-edge in their respective fields is extraordinary.
It has been my pleasure to volunteer as a narrator at JBI for the last couple of years, and I hope to continue to work here in this heartening environment where everyone's joy in "doing good" is uplifting and infectious.
My experience at JBI has been exceptional in three ways:
1. JBI values their volunteers' time. When you go to JBI, you're there to work. There's no waiting around, no disorganized volunteer coordinators trying to find something for you to do, no pointless tasks handed off because no one else wanted to do them.
2. There's an obvious link between volunteer efforts and recipients. We record books and magazine articles, assist in directing the recordings, and quality control the recordings. The vision impaired then gain access to various publications. The distance between effort and who benefits is so much closer than with other volunteer efforts, where organizations ask for help with administrative tasks, fund raisers and other intermediate, albeit necessary, tasks that are a few steps removed from the intended beneficiaries.
3. The work is edifying. In the process of QC'ing recordings, I've been exposed to books and magazine articles I otherwise never would have read. Plus, I've had the opportunity to work with extremely intelligent fellow volunteers and JBI staff.
JBI International has some truly wonderful people and is the highlight of my week. I enjoy going to the studio and help wherever I can whether it is editing an audio book, directing a reader or quality control of the almost finished book for the blind or sight impaired. i would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in helping those to have access to books and magazines not otherwise available to them.
I started volunteering at JBI International after reading an ad for a large print Hagadah in a local newspaper. Little did I know that it would become a highlight of my week. At that time, the recordings were done on a reel to reel machine and some training was needed. The person (is still on the staff) who trained me was most patient and understanding since I have no mechanical skills whatsoever. I have subsequently learned that the entire staff has these virtues as well as being friendly, caring, helpful, understanding, etc. They are very knowledgeable about the workings of a computer and the subject matter that is being recorded. Questions are answered with a smile!! We are one big happy family making a major contribution to those in need - - -
I am so proud to be a part of JBI! I have been volunteering in the recording studio to help record, direct, and edit audiobooks, and it is always more fun than work. :) I love the staff and I love that I get to develop professional skills (I work in audio) and help others at the same time!
My husband and I have been with JBI for about 10 years;I record books and he directs. The longevity of our comittment says it all. The work we do is very rewarding and important. A bonus is that you get to read and record lots of terrific books.
The staff is fantastic:warm and genuinely appreciative of everything we do. I have done a lot of volunteer work and never felt the comraderie among staff and volunteers as I do here.
The studios are state of the art, and the pros we work with make sure that the end product sounds top notch(Many of the volunteers are professional actors).
Once a week I go to the beautiful studios on 30th St and spend two hours in a sound booth telling a story. It's an extrordinary opportunity to get to share amazing and wildly different tales from a mobster's girlfriend who falls in love with a cop to a heartbreaking true story of a young girl during the Holocaust to a wildly entertaining book about an 18th century French knife seller who gets reincarnated as a fly in Long Island. And did I mention that there are always amazing people there? It's the best few hours you can spend in a week!
Being a volunteer at JBI Internationsl has been a rare experience. Recording books for the visually impaired is rewarding and always interesting. As a reader and as a director, I am enjoying books I might never have discovered, and imagining a recipient enjoying the recording is very satisfying. Being behind the microphone allows me to revisit my past performance skills as an actor. The technical staff in the studio and the manager of audio production, Jane Blecher, makes being a part of the volunteer family a delightful, inclusive experience.
JBI has been such a wonderful experience in my life. I started volunteering this past March. I narrate books and magazine articles. I feel so good that I am helping someone enjoy a story or a current news article.
The recording staff at JBI is 200% professional and so helpful! They're gracious in thanking me for my time there but I feel like I should thank them for the wonderful experience they're bringing into my life.
Thanks JBI!!
Marie Hoffman
After my father had a stroke he was both visually impaired and unable to attend services at his synagogue. JBI provided, at no charge, excellent recordings of both Sabbath and High Holiday services as well as the Passover Seder. I have contributed to them ever since and am now a volunteer as well. They are a wonderful organization - the recording operation is well run, the staff and other volunteers are great, and I feel that my time is used wisely (no "make work" as is the case with other organizations). I look forward to going to the recording studio every week and am glad to have the opportunity to work with them.
I started volunteering years ago with JBI as a narrator of talking books. Reading is one of my greatest joys and I wanted to be able to "give back" and help others share in that experience. The staff at JBI is incredible. They make you comfortable, listen to your ideas and become friends. The fun and the joy you have in recording the books keep you coming back. Knowing a book club was waiting for one of my books was the "highlight" of my recording "career".
I have been visually impaired for almost ten years. My vision loss was caused by a blood disorder discovered by my by my Ophthalmologist and Hematologist. I was only fifty years old when I became visually impaired and was distressed to think I would have to give up reading. I believed I had lost all sources of reading material. That is when I learned about JBI. JBI has become one of the best gifts I have received since becoming visually impaired. The traditional way of reading was lost to me. I have been an avid reader since I lost my father in the summer of 1990. Reading became a way of getting through my grief and has continued to offer me many years of pleasure. I used to check out books from my synagogue’s library and The Public Library System. Now, through JBI, I can receive books with Jewish Themes right to my door. JBI is now my number one source for Jewish books on any topic I choose to listen. The most surprising coincidence happened when JBI sent a book titled Visions of Greatness to me. The book contained short stories written by Rabbinic Scholars. Rabbi Ephraim Greenblatt wrote two of the stories. He was my teacher in Hebrew School many years ago. I planned to meet him to discuss the stories, but he was leaving soon to move to Israel. That part was unfortunate, but I was still happy that I had the opportunity to talk to him on the phone before he left. I want to thank JBI for the opportunity to continue reading and learning Jewishly. I have personally shared this information on to my legally blind friends and to my synagogue’s librarian to share this wonderful resource.
JBI is a very much appreciated. They are very kind and very helpful. Having Jewish books on tape and in braille both in English and in Hebrew is invaluable. Government libraries have general subject books, but they do not have anything Jewish. Much thanks to all the staff and volunteers. If you are a person or organization looking for where to donate, please consider JBI. JBI makes a huge difference in the lives and learning of the Jewish disabled community.
My wife Pnina and I are Israelis who spent three years for graduate studies in the US in the mid-fifties. During a visit to the US in 1997, with Pnina's vision starting to worsen, we visited the New York office of the JBI and were impressed with the range of assistance provided to people with impaired vision. Only many years later, with Pnina's vision almost completely gone, did we get in touch with the JBI library and get via airmail books and periodicals from their extensive collection. We are most thankful for their services and their prompt reaction to our requests. Thanks to JBI and its friendly staff! Falk Gadiesh
I will be eternally grateful to JBI, their selfless work had such great impact on my father’s quality of life. My 89-year old father lives in central Russia. He has been an avid reader all his life. About 8 years ago he started losing his eyesight. It was an awful blow for him. The market of audio-books was non-existent in Russia at that time (even now, though quickly developing, it still cannot satisfy an advanced reader like my father). I was thrilled to find out about JBI and their mission. I contacted them – since then they have been providing my Dad with audio-books in Russian on a regular basis. He’s never out of books! They are in New-York, he is in Russia. Isn’t it amazing? Books without borders!
I have been a client receiving services from JBI since my Bar Mitzvah in 1963 when I lost my vision. Over these 46 years, JBI has been essential (a) in making my full participation in my Jewish home, community and synagogue possible, (b) in my general education in philosophy and psychology, and (c) most recently, in my ordination as a rabbi. I have been impressed with how JBI’s vision has expanded in this last half century from an organization serving the young Jewish blind in America to serving the elderly and the young visually impaired throughout the world. It is without reservation and with great enthusiasm that I encourage all to support the efforts of JBI in its mission to repair the world.
Our son is 13 years old and completely blind since birth. Since he started Hebrew school at age 6, JBI has been amazing for him and for us. They gave us all of his Hebrew school books in Braille, the kids' magazine Babaganewz in Braille that all of the other kids (including his twin brother) were getting in print, and the prayer book that he uses in synagogue in Braille. We are Conservative, but our religious school is combined with a Reform temple so he also has a Reform prayer book in Braille from JBI. He has not only been able to keep up with his Hebrew school class, but he has become an excellent Hebrew Braille reader, rising way ahead of his class in the Hebrew Mitkadem series of workbooks. He has also received all of the High Holiday, Festival, and 5 Megillot books in Braille from JBI. Last summer he had his Bar Mitzvah and he got his Torah portion and Haftarah both in Braille from JBI. They have never said no to any book that we or my son has requested that they can provide. Recently, he decided he wanted to follow along with all of the Haftarot every week in synagogue and the first volume of all of the Haftarot for the book of Bereshit arrived very quickly in the mail. With my husband being the rabbi of our synagogue, participating in services at the synagogue is a huge part of our son's life, and thanks to JBI, he can feel an equal participant there. Our son also has a deep love of Judaism and a strong desire to lead services and follow along with services. Without his Braille books from JBI, it would be impossible for him to do these things. Whenever he gets a new Jewish text from JBI, he is so excited and very appreciative and he knows he can always depend on JBI to provide him with the Jewish books he would like to have. As his parents, we are so grateful to JBI for allowing our son to feel included and equal to his peers and everyone else in the Jewish community. We beamed with pride at our sons' B'nai Mitzvah and that was due in large part to JBI.
My mother is 96 and has macular degeneration. Although she still manages to do the Times crossword puzzles, reading is a great strain. The discovery of JBI is a bright spot in her life.The convenience of the service and its competent and courteous, warm and professional staff make for a totally gratifying and enriching experience. We -and many others -are grateful for such a valuable organization!