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The charity enables sight-impaired residents or anyone who finds holding a newspaper difficult to listen to excerpts from local newspapers every week.
Chairman Peter Eagles said: “Any person who is visually impaired or in any way ‘print disabled,’ can receive all their local news from our free Talking Newspaper service.
“Newsworthy and entertaining items are recorded onto USB memory sticks from local newspapers, including The Sidmouth Herald, Midweek Herald, and Express and Echo.
“All listeners are provided with a playback device with which to play the memory stick, which is delivered by the Royal Mail free of charge.
“A quarterly magazine is also recorded and distributed in the same way.
“Alternatively, the recordings can be accessed via the East Devon Talking Newspaper website.”
To run smoothly, the charity needs seven teams, each comprising eight volunteers and is looking to recruit more to fill vacancies in roles such as editors, readers, registrars, and producers.
Peter said: “This is an opportunity to join a group of friendly local people working in a sociable environment helping to provide a really worthwhile service which is much appreciated by the listeners.
“The recordings take place in Sidmouth on Tuesday afternoons and the majority of volunteers work for two hours once every seven weeks.”
He added: “A recent survey of users reported that they found the service informative and useful, as it enabled them to talk about local matters to their family and friends and gave them a sense of connection to the community.
“If anyone would like to access the Talking Newspaper or who knows anyone who would enjoy it, then do get in touch.”
For more details, contact Peter on 01395 516060, 07764 929891 or email petereagles@btinternet.com.
