GRANITE – Behind the granite walls of the Oklahoma State Reformatory is a unique classroom full of differencemakers like Brandon Savage.

“You’re not only giving yourself a solid skill set, but you’re also helping the young ones and the blind community in general,” Savage said. “If you can give back, it’s an awesome feeling.”

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is partnering with Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services to transcribe books for visually impaired children.

Last week, the freshly encrypted children’s books were delivered to the Accessible Instructional Materials Center.

AIM is a depository of braille books for Oklahoma students who need help reading regular print.

“You can’t go to a store and just buy braille,” said AIM Director Pepper Watson. “We have these young readers who will be learning braille but don’t have access. This is a game changer for us.”

And the Braille program is a game-changer for the men at OSR. They are learning a valuable skill while positively impacting the community.

“How much would this mean to us, to be able to sit down with your kid in your lap and teach them to read a book,” said class facilitator Roberta Benedict. “It enriches their lives.”

“The opportunity we have here is changing the inmates’ lives by giving them opportunities, but also even further it changes the life of a mom or dad or a little 4-year-old who is learning to read,” ODOC Administrator of Programs Stephanie Adams added. “We are so excited to be part of this program.”

And this is only the beginning. The men are earning their prestigious Library of Congress braille certification. With that, they intend to use their talents to enrich the lives of countless Oklahoma children.