Access to Print News Saves Lives

During 2020, everyone carefully and closely watched news and read local papers for some kind of good news. Seniors especially wanted to know the progress toward a vaccine. Then, how soon they could get it. And finally, where.
For people living with vision loss, those newspaper stories would have been inaccessible were it not for the volunteers of Voicecorps. In normal times, volunteers come to Voicecorps and read aloud from print publications in professional studios. Those readings are recorded or transmitted “live” to the homes of eligible Ohio residents from Toledo to Lima, throughout Central Ohio and in Portsmouth, and in the counties surrounding Athens and Cambridge.
Listeners hear the readings on special radios provided by Voicecorps, online at voicecorps.org, or on select TV SAP channels. Most recently, smart speakers like Alexa can be used to provide Voicecorps through WiFi.
In March 2020, Ohio essentially closed including the Voicecorps studios. Not to be deterred, average Janes and Joes read aloud from their living room couch, second bedrooms and dens, hallway closets or basements. The volunteers were using PC's, smartphones, tablets, or telephones to provide audio versions of every days' newspaper, current magazines, shopping ads, and books.
Voicecorps volunteers kept the news readings ongoing throughout 2020 without interruption. We provided accurate and timely access to current print news about the pandemic, it’s spread, the vaccines, and how to get them when the listener wanted them. Having access to the same news as sighted Ohioans helped to ensure the health and safety of thousands of blind and disabled people.
For 45 years, Voicecorps has been reading aloud for thousands of Ohio residents who cannot use print due to blindness or another disability. Support for the service means that it remains free to eligible residents and that the subscriptions needed for content on the reading service never stop coming.
CFC giving is highly valued as it provides essential operating support year-round. Your gift becomes the power to transmit audio through the air, stream the readings over the web, and put large print, Braille, or CD program schedules in the homes of registered Voicecorps listeners.