While working in 1959 as a chemistry teacher and the head of the science department at Don Mills Junior High School in Toronto, Saxton was asked by a colleague to donate two hours a week to CNIB, reading to people with vision loss. Despite having no experience in this area, Saxton agreed immediately
Peter celebrated his 50th year of volunteering with CNIB in April 2008. He has spent the lion’s share of those years as a narrator for CNIB Library’s audio book service, but says that for the first seven years he did no recording at all.
For his first volunteer assignment he learned two hand manual communication to assist Mae Brown with her studies. She went on to become the first deaf blind Canadian to graduate from university.
Peter volunteered twice a week in the Audio Publishing program where his research skills were put to great use narrating a broad range of non-fiction topics, including many in First Languages. (6:26)
