ABLE - Audio Braille Literacy Enhancement

09/03/2026

Join ExFabula this autumn, in attending one of their story slams. It’s a great organization with a great mission. Don’t miss this opportunity to tell your story.

Feel Good Entertainment: Ex Fabula’s Community Storytelling events

It’s Ex Fabula’s 18th season of connecting Milwaukee through real stories! Please join us and experience the power of true, personal stories - at a workshop or a StorySlam. Come to a Slam to listen - or, if you want, throw your name in the hat for a chance to share a story on the night’s theme! Reserve your spot at exfabula.org/tickets.

We offer a wide variety of accommodations upon request including Braille, large-print, and digital materials, sighted guides, free tickets if cost is a barrier, and even transportation reimbursement. More details and a text-only schedule are at exfabula.org/accessibility/. You can also text or call Megan at 414-530-3503 or email [email protected].

Season 18 of Ex Fabula: Connecting Milwaukee Through Real Stories

StorySlam: Coming of Age, 7 pm at Sugar Maple on Thursday, September 17, 2026

StoryStarter Workshop, 5:45 pm and StorySlam: Signs, 7 pm at Dandy on Tuesday, October 13, 2026

StoryStretch Workshop, 6:30 pm at Fruition Café on Tuesday, November 10, 2026

StoryStarter Workshop, 5:45 pm and AfterDark: For the Culture, 7 pm at Radio Milwaukee on Thursday, November 19, 2026

StorySlam: Apologies, 7 pm at Falcon Bowl on Friday, December 18, 2026

StorySlam: Gut Feelings, 7 pm at The Cooperage on Wednesday, January 6, 2027

Reserve your spot: WWW.EXFABULA.ORG/TICKETS

Become a member. For $60, you get free tickets and support our work! www.exfabula.org/membership
Listen to the podcast. Stream and share your favorite episodes! www.exfabula.org/listen
Volunteer. Support Ex Fabula events. www.exfabula.org/volunteer

Thank you Season 18 sponsors & partners! Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Ex Fabula members, Christine Symchych and Jim McNulty, Radio Milwaukee, HYFIN, Wisconsin Public Radio, WUWM 89.7, Herzfeld Foundation, Transfer Pizzeria Café, UWM Center for 21st Century Studies, Red Oak Writing, Athena Communications, Gagne McChrystal De Lorenzo & Burghardt, Outpost Co-op, and Lulu Café and Bar

(414) 530-3503 | www.exfabula.org

Cheryl Orgas

Connecting Milwaukee Through Real Stories Get Tickets Ex Fabula is Latin for "from stories" Since 2009, our organization has been building community through the art of true, personal storytelling. Throughout the year, we produce storytelling workshops, StorySlams and Community Collaborations where p...

09/01/2026

We are so excited to invite you to this year’s 61st anniversary ABLE annual fundraising and volunteer recognition luncheon. Celebrate with us our 61st year of giving braille, tactile and audio access to people who are blind, low vision or print disabled. We have an exciting program planned for you. Please honor us with your presence. Come celebrate with us.

Please join us at the Italian Community Center, Thursday, November 5, 2026 11:30A.M.

Also we would love to have you join our fabulous sponsor team.

You would be joining:

Audio and Braille Advocates, $3,000
Beyond Vision
Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Book Builder, $2,000
Ann Johnston, ABLE Board Director
Diana & Rich Pine

Literacy Leader, $1,000
Anonymous
Monika Bachhuber, Kristina Paris & Margit Schatzman - in memory of Erna Schatzman
William Meeker & Cheryl Orgas
Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library

Education Enhancer, $500
Goyke & Associates
Neil Jaehnert, ABLE Audio Volunteer
RitzHolman, CPAs
Town Bank, N.A.

Page Turner, $250
Jennifer Wenzel, ABLE Board President
Tom Littelmann, ABLE Audio Volunteer

ABLE Annual Awards Luncheon & Benefit
Thursday, November 5, 2026
11:30a.m. to 1:00p.m. (registration at 11:15a.m.)
The Italian Community Center – Festa Ballroom
631 East Chicago Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

You won’t want to miss the 2026 ABLE Annual Awards Luncheon & Benefit! Together we will celebrate 61 years of serving the audio, braille, and tactile needs of blind and print disabled people in our community and beyond. Join us in honoring and acknowledging our dedicated and loyal volunteers.

$60 per person.
Complimentary for ABLE volunteers and the students and teachers ABLE serves.

Menu:

CITRUS CHICKEN BREAST (GF)
Boneless chicken breast, Spinach, Yukon Gold Potato Puree, Citrus-Butter Sauce

-or-

GRILLED POLENTA CAKE (VG, GF)
Wild Mushroom and Leek Fricassée, Spinach, Charred Tomato Sauce

Sponsor a student
Event Sponsorships Available
Register before October 21st!
Come celebrate with us, come enjoy a great meal, come help us fundraise for this worthy cause: getting braille, audio and tactiles into the hands of blind and print disabled individuals.

Our annual luncheon brings our staff, board members, volunteers, and recipients together to celebrate ABLE’s successes! We hope you'll join us!

08/07/2026

Milwaukee Irish Fest is collaborating with ABLE to offer the 2026 schedule and pertinent information in numerous formats.

Please share this information with as many individuals as you can reach, so our community has full access to this information for Milwaukee Irish Fest. Here are the options for Irish Fest info and daily schedules:

ABLE website: https://www.ablenow.org/news-events/2026-irish-fest/

Irish Fest website: https://irishfest.com/map for the audio recordings of schedules and information.

A braille copy will be at two info booths and the Respite Center for you to look at in preparing for your time at Irish Fest.

2026 Milwaukee Irish Fest Admission Information Thursday August 13th Schedule Friday August 14th Schedule Saturday August 15th Schedule Sunday August 16th Schedule Experience It...

08/06/2026

ABLE’s annual volunteer recognition and fundraising luncheon is just three months away. Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 5, 2026, at the Italian Community Center.

We will have surprises for you. You won’t want to miss this ABLE event!

If you would like to sponsor the event, it’s not too late to do so. Please find sponsorship information here.

https://www.ablenow.org/news-events/annual-luncheon/sponsorship-opportunities/

Please come dine with us.

More details will be coming soon.

Cheryl Orgas, Executive Director

ABLE Annual Awards Luncheon & Benefit
Thursday, November 5, 2026
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (registration at 11:15 a.m.)
The Italian Community Center – Festa Ballroom
631 East Chicago Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

We’re grateful for your sponsorship of ABLE’s Annual Awards Luncheon where we honor our dedicated and hard-working volunteers who are essential to our services....

07/23/2026

I am excited to share with you the news that our Awards Luncheon sponsor support has doubled in just one week!

We have also added one sponsor level, that of Page Turner at $250. Page Turner sponsors will receive:
• Two guest tickets
• Name recognition in program booklet

Please inundate us with Page Turners, demonstrating your generosity to ABLE.

Because of donors such as yourself, ABLE is making a difference in the lives of blind and print disabled individuals every single day.

Whether it be summer reading in braille for a rising 6th grader, complex mathematics in braille with tactile graphics for a just-graduated high school senior, books by Wisconsin authors read by volunteers in our ABLE Sound Center, or the state fair schedule in an accessible format, your donation makes a difference.

Let’s see if we can double our sponsorships by August 15th.

With much appreciation,
Cheryl Orgas

https://www.ablenow.org/news-events/annual-luncheon/sponsorship-opportunities/

See the list of sponsors you will be joining and the sponsor levels below:

Audio & Braille Advocate Sponsors $3,000
Beyond Vision
Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Book Builder Sponsors $2,000
Ann Johnston, ABLE Board Director
Diana & Richard Pine

Literacy Leader Sponsors $1,000
Anonymous
William Meeker & Cheryl Orgas
Wisconsin Talking Book & Braille Library

Education Enhancer Sponsors $500
Goyke & Associates
Neil Jaehnert, ABLE audio volunteer

07/22/2026

The Wisconsin State Fair has partnered with ABLE to give the public daily schedules and information in an audio format.

Please find the audio versions of the daily schedules and general information here:

https://www.ablenow.org/news-events/2025-wisconsin-state-fair/

See you at the fair!
Cheryl Orgas

07/20/2026

Please see info below about an opportunity offered by Vision Forward for teens and young adults who are blind or visually impaired.

Cheryl Orgas

Pathways to Independence Camp
August 20 and August 21 (9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)
For teens and young adults ages 14–21 who are blind or visually impaired.
Led by Occupational Therapists, Certified Low Vision Therapists, Teachers of the Visually Impaired, and Orientation & Mobility Specialists, this interactive two-day camp is designed to build confidence and practical independent living skills.

Participants will learn and practice skills including:
• Organization and labeling techniques
• Assistive technology for everyday tasks
• Home organization and cleaning strategies
• Meal planning and grocery list preparation
• Money identification and management
• Grocery shopping in the community
• Meal preparation and cooking
• Dining skills and kitchen safety

The cost is $300 per participant (financial support available if needed), and registration is due by August 6, 2026.
Additional details and registration are available here:

A 2-day camp for teenagers and young adults aged 14-21 who are blind or visually impaired. Led by Occupational Therapists,...

07/16/2026

The Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library has undergone a large-scale renovation in 2025 and are opening their doors to give patrons and community partners a behind the scenes tour of the new space, the ABLE offices, a peek at the craft in the mail program, a chance to meet the WTBBL team, and more!

When: Monday, July 20, 2026, 11:00A.M. to 2:00P.M.
Where: WTBBL office - 813 W. Wells Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53233

If you would like to come visit with WTBBL, please RSVP via phone call at 1-800-242-8822/414-286-3045, or email at [email protected].

Please come join WTBBL in celebrating their remodel. Bonus: pop by the ABLE office and state-of-the-art Sound Center for tours of our space as well!

Warmly,
Cheryl Orgas

07/15/2026

ABLE is excited to announce this year’s annual volunteer recognition and fundraising luncheon on Thursday, November 5, 2026 at the Italian Conference Center.

Join us in honoring our volunteers, meeting our MPS students, and celebrating ABLE’s successes in making the printed word accessible to all through audio, braille and tactile formats. Please join our sponsor list.

See the list of sponsors you will be joining and the sponsor levels below.

Audio & Braille Advocate Sponsors $3,000
Beyond Vision

Book Builder Sponsors $2,000
Diana & Richard Pine

Literacy Leader Sponsors $1,000
Anonymous
William Meeker & Cheryl Orgas

Education Enhancer Sponsors $500
Goyke & Associates

With gratitude,
Cheryl Orgas

We’re grateful for your sponsorship of ABLE’s Annual Awards Luncheon where we honor our dedicated and hard-working volunteers who are essential to our services....

07/08/2026

ABLE is proud to be working with Wehr Nature Center to make the center accessible for blind people. With Michael Diaz as one of their volunteers, they were well on their way to accessibility. ABLE produced a braille and tactile trail map, transcribed into braille their trail map descriptions, and provided audio versions of descriptions in English and Spanish to be found on Wehr’s website. Vision Forward’s staff member Veronica Davis read the material in English and Spanish in ABLE’s state-of-the-art Sound Center. Organizations work together in this Milwaukee community.

Check out this great Shepherd Express article below:

https://shepherdexpress.com/news/hero-of-the-month/michael-diaz-birding-for-vision-impaired-folks/?mc_cid=aaaf16af7a&mc_eid=1afbc48dc9

By the way, Michael is no stranger to ABLE - we produce braille and tactiles for Michael for his math classes throughout high school.

Michael also participated in Braille Games when he was a youngster. Also check out coverage of this year’s Braille Games in the second link below.

https://www.cbs58.com/news/braille-games-helps-local-visually-impaired-students-gain-confidence?mc_cid=aaaf16af7a&mc_eid=1afbc48dc9

Cheryl Orgas

Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired
Beyond Vision
Milwaukee Public Museum
Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library

As a low-vision person himself, Diaz is passionate about sharing his love for birding with others and has played a significant role in helping Wehr become a place for folks of all ability levels to enjoy birding themselves.