Massachusetts Reading Network

in association with the talking information center network September 2016

Monthly Impact Report

Director’s Corner Through our unique radio reading service, we provide our listeners with the information they need to shop economically, involve themselves in community activities, and stay healthy. We offer public service announcements, weather preparedness information, and information regarding blindness issues, available services and support. Continued at DIRECTOR Wine Dinner Fundraiser How does a fabulous wine dinner connect to the mission of The Massachusetts Reading Network? Earlier this year, we delivered a three-year strategic business plan to our State sponsors, MCB and EOEA, in which we outlined four major goals: Increase Awareness , Pursue Financial Sustainability , Maximize Resources , Enhance the Role of our Board of Directors . All 4 of these areas are supported by the 24th Annual Wine Dinner on November 3rd at The Barker Tavern in Scituate. Continued at MISSION

Anne Torrey, on left, and Dot Daigle with John Ptaszek, all reading volunteers.

On Being a “Necessary Person” One of our volunteer readers was very frustrated lately because she was having problems getting to our location for her regular broadcasting time through her usual ride with the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA). “Don’t they understand how important what I am doing is,” she blurted out emphatically. One of the joys of my job as executive director of Valley Eye Radio in Springfield is coming to work knowing that I have more than 50 volunteers that I team up with every week who are the epitome of “good will” and “doing for others”. Continued at VOLUNTEER

Click to learn more: WINE DINNER FUNDRAISER Thursday, November 3, 6:30 PM Barker Tavern, Scituate, MA SPONSORSHIP AND ADVERTISING

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130 Enterprise Dr, Marshfield, MA 02050, ticnetwork.org, you can unsubscribe by emailing us or calling the office _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Volunteers Extend Funding and Mission

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Diversified Development Amplifies Impact

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DIRECTOR - [continued from page 1 ] And how are we doing? Here are true sentiments from real people, … “Reading the newspaper used to be very important to me, then for a while when I lost my sight; I had to do without it. Your broadcast of the local newspapers has given me back what I thought I had lost forever.” Chatham “Audible Local Ledger helps me wake up with a smile”. Mashpee “Thank you for the radio. It means a great deal to me.” Harwich “What a difference the special radio has made in my mother’s day! She always wanted to keep informed and this was just the trick. She is very happy with the simplicity of operation and the clarity. Thank you for your generous contribution to help our sight compromised mother take some more enjoyment out of life. She is 98.” Falmouth Although most of these listeners quotes must, for reasons of privacy, remain unsigned, they are, nonetheless, a simple thank you. Listeners do not write in often, but when they do, it is very gratifying for the volunteers and for me. To be able to become a part of someone’s everyday life carries with it a tremendous responsibility, which we do not take lightly. We are constantly striving to upgrade our programming and bring our listeners “all the news from their hometown.” Founded in 1996, the Audible Local Ledger, Inc. is a registered non-profit Section 501(c)3 affiliate of the Massachusetts Reading Network, a special statewide radio information network supported by the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind and the Executive Office of Elder Affairs that provides human voiced readings of daily and weekly newspapers, periodicals, shopping guides, best selling books, calendars of community events, and other materials previously available only in print. Using volunteer readers, the Audible Local Ledger broadcasts this material over closed-circuit radio stations to our target population: the blind, visually impaired and print disabled residents of Cape Cod and the Islands. Although mainstream radio and television coverage is more than sufficient for national and statewide news, visually impaired individuals often find themselves totally cut off from local community news. Items of local interest that can only be found in local newspapers are of particular interest to our listeners: police logs, obituaries, and news about local town boards and local politics. The Audible Local Ledger is dedicated to enabling our listeners to live their lives with the greatest possible personal independence. Radio reading has proven to be one of the most successful methods of informing the print disabled. There exists no more gratifying support than that of our listeners, who continually attest to the success of our service. Sherry Bergeron is Executive Director of Audible Local Ledger in Mashpee

VOLUNTEER [continued from page 1 ] On a more practical level, none of us across the state would be able to keep our listeners informed and connected to their communities and provide the services we do without our volunteers.

The dedication of reading volunteers at my organization and the Massachusetts Reading Network is extraordinary, but only a rare few match that of Anne Torrey. Not only has she been a reader for over 37 years, she has even crossed the state to do it. “I love to read,” she exclaimed with utmost enthusiasm when asked why she is still as committed to being a volunteer live reader at Valley Eye Radio as she was 37 years ago when she started to volunteer at the Talking Information Center Network (TIC) in Marshfield. “I like to help people feel they are still a necessary person in this world and stay informed,” Anne explained. She is very concerned that as people age their world gets smaller. “I want them to have another voice to listen to these news stories and be thankful they have a new friend (on air).” “We are able to tell them what is going on in their community, how their money is being spent, and what is expected of them as citizens,” Anne continued, “Our non profit radio service is another way of getting information out.” And she has been doing just that from both the eastern and western parts of the state. The current Northampton resident is now living at the Christopher Heights Assisted Living complex. Previously, she had lived in Easthampton where she moved to be closer to her daughter after her husband passed away. That is when she began to read at

Valley Eye Radio in Springfield in 2007. But, she began the volunteer reader chapter of her life at TIC when she lived in Scituate and raised her family. Anne’s longtime radio broadcast partner on Wednesdays is Chicopee resident Dot Daigle, a former telephone operator. Together they anchor the live 11am-12pm morning hour covering primarily the Hampshire County area in the Pioneer Valley. Both prepare all during the week, finding informational articles and news they believe is critical for listeners to know about. They try to put themselves in the shoes of persons who want to stay connected to their community despite their reading challenges. Anne further explains her preparation process, “If I couldn’t read, what would I be interested in hearing?” “Our listeners recognize our voices and know what kind of information they will get from us. We are not just reading off a teleprompter. We read with feeling for the people who are listening,” she added. I just want people to know it [Valley Eye Radio formerly Valley Radio Reading Service ] is available.” The caring and preparation that these two bring to their broadcasts are exceptional. “They come every week so prepared and have obviously spent a lot of time all week gathering information and news that they think their listeners need in their lives. They deeply care about their listeners as people,” Valley Eye Radio Director Barbara Loh explained. “I love the job,” Anne concluded filled with passion. Not surprisingly, longtime partner and friend Dot agreed. So it is not surprising that Anne continues to make sure she gets her rides from the PVTA every Wednesday morning. Sometimes it is frustrating to have to wait over an hour or more to get picked up, and a new system has made it more difficult lately to make her weekly reservations. But, she is so determined to keep her rides that she has talked to her legislators and has other meetings planned to continue to advocate for her transportation needs. “I am not doing this for me. It is for people who can’t read,” she said. “I’m trying to give people something they need to continue with their lives.” Laughingly she said, “I think I could even get to the Governor if I had to.” Barbara Loh Executive Director of Valley Eye Radio in Springfield MISSION - [continued from page 1 ] The Barker Tavern is a fully-restored 17th-century house and garrison now in use as a fine dining restaurant and special event facility. The Wine Dinner is attended and sponsored by many of the local businesses on the South Shore as well as many of our wonderful supporters, volunteers and State legislators. Attendees can look forward to a four course meal created specifically for this event by George Jordan, head chef at The Barker Tavern. Each meal will perfectly complement a corresponding wine. The night will also feature both a live and silent auction that will include a trip to Baltimore to see the Red Sox take on the Orioles, Patriots vs. Jets tickets in Foxboro, admission passes to the many wonderful museums in the area, foursomes with carts at the area’s most prestigious golf clubs and even a tour of the State House given by Representative Jim Cantwell. We are thrilled to announce our featured speaker is Oce Harrison, Ed.D, Project Director of the New England ADA

Center at the Institute for Human Centered Design in Boston. Dr. Harrison has directed the New England ADA Center since 2001 and provides ADA Title I Employment trainings throughout New England. She collaborated with the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, which yielded groundbreaking research methods on various topics including “The Triumph of the Older Worker Despite the Great Recession.” Dr. Harrison is also a professor at Bridgewater State University where she teaches a popular course on disability studies in their Psychology Department. We are excited to have Dr. Harrison attend our fundraiser, which will surely be a night to remember! For over 38 years there have been thousands of blind and visually impaired

individuals who have relied on TIC volunteer readers to keep them connected and informed on news and other critical information they need on a daily basis. Today, with the collaboration of five other State Reading Service

studios and over 600 volunteers, we are delivering unique programs to a vast print impaired audience of all ages and disabilities.

As we continue to expand our audience and programming, we look for your continued help and support:

1. Spread the word! Share our amazing service and how to access our programming with all the folks you know who would benefit.

1. Donate! Help us become more financially sustainable. 2. Get Involved! Become a volunteer Reader, Board Member or a “friend of the Massachusetts Reading

Network”.

Every day, we are all so very grateful for the time our volunteers provide us to keep this lifeline of information to those who otherwise would not have access! Jim Bunnell is Executive Director of the Talking Information Center in Marshfield