Mother delivers power of words to blind readers

Debra Bonde

Age: 49
Residence: Livonia
Occupation: Founder and director, Seedlings Braille Books for Children
Honored: For producing more than 138,000 affordable braille books and articles for blind children and/or blind parents

his petite brunette always wanted to help others. But much of her life, she quaked in her shoes at the thought of speaking before even a small group.

    So Debra Bonde signed up for the solitary task of transcribing braille. Now as founder of a braille children's book company, Seedlings, public speaking is part of her life, part of helping children develop a love of reading and learning.

    “Partly it's an independence issue,” she said. “A child will not be literate by hearing — they have to learn sentence structure, spelling and grammar by reading and writing.”

    Elizabeth Brown understands firsthand the need Bonde addresses. A blind parent and Seedlings board member, Brown reads Goodnight Moon and other braille books to her toddler.

    “Seedlings makes that possible,” Brown said. “We could listen to tapes together, but reading just adds to the normalcy of our life as a family.”

    Bonde didn't know any blind children when she started writing braille 24 years ago; she merely thought the task suited her. She went on to work for a Toledo nonprofit, an experience Bonde said reiterated a need for affordable braille children's books. A braille Hardy Boys book could cost $100.

    With nothing more than determination and a two-piece tool set for punching braille dots, Bonde started her own nonprofit in 1984. She called the business Seedlings, to signify the seeds of literacy and because the braille language of raised dots looks like sown seeds. In 1985, Bonde's engineer father, Ray Stewart, transformed her braille typewriter into an automated printer. That year, she made 221 braille children's books in the basement of her Detroit home.

    Bonde balanced that mission with her other great love: raising two dynamic daughters, later as a divorced mother.

    Today, Seedlings sells books in 17 countries. The Livonia office buzzes with two $38,000 braille printers, which last year helped produce more than 18,000 children's books and articles. Bonde keeps costs to readers down, charging $18 for that Hardy Boys novel by subsidizing production with fund-raising. Her books cost customers $10 on average.

    Despite years of speeches, school presentations and work alongside the 12-member Seedlings board, five employees and dozens of volunteers — Bonde still describes herself as shy.

    “She never sees herself as the successful entrepreneur, although she is,” said friend and former board member Paula Korelitz. “She's just a very loving, caring person, and it shows in everything she touches.”

    Bonde has also seen Seedlings through personal tragedy. In March 2001, her 19-year-old daughter, Anna, was killed by a drunken driver. Today, Seedlings and Bonde's daughter, Megan, a college freshman, sustain her.

    “I'm really fortunate to have this job,” she said. “Seedlings and Megan have pulled me back out there every morning. To have a job I love so much where I feel like I'm doing some good — it's been a real lifeline.”

— Kara G. Morrison