RALEIGH, N.C. – There are only two reading services left in North Carolina: one in Raleigh and the other in Rocky Mount.
However, there used to be eight of them across the state. A reading service is a resource where people read newspapers, books, magazines and more aloud for the benefit of the blind, vision impaired or print impaired. The volunteers at the North Carolina Reading Service are among the reasons the service has been successful for four decades.
The N.C. Reading Service is a radio station that was founded 40 years ago with a very specific audience in mind.
“Broadcasting from Raleigh, North Carolina, we bring news and information to listeners who are blind and print impaired,” Tom Becker, a volunteer at the North Carolina Reading Service, said during a broadcast.
The service is powered by about 130 volunteers, and the shows cover all kinds of topics with content airing 24 hours a day.
“Oh, there's grocery store ads, and there's children's story hours, someone does "The Reader's Digest," there are a lot of magazines, such as Oprah that various people do, cooking shows. Just about anything you can think of,” Karen Edwards, a volunteer at the North Carolina Reading Service, said.
The show that Becker and Edwards do on Fridays covers local news of the day. Becker and Edwards have been reading partners at the nonprofit for more than two decades.
“Twenty-seven years and I've been fortunate to have Karen with for 25 of those 27 years. So I think we're a good team,” Becker said.
To prepare for each show, they cut out articles from newspapers all over the state.
“We cut the articles out in advance because of the noise. It would be a distraction to do it in the studio while we're reading,” Becker said.
Together, they spend two hours every Friday reading the news articles to listeners, while also giving audio descriptions of the pages and accompanying photos.
“I describe the photos, and it's hard because I have to visualize. I have to think about what our listeners can visualize in their minds when I describe the photos. I try to give them a good indication of what's on the page of the paper,” Edwards said.
They can tell it’s a meaningful service by the relationships they’ve formed with listeners — including one who started listening as a teenager.
“One Friday they asked if Tom and I would help sing Happy Birthday to him. So we did. And when we got through, we started to introduce ourselves. And he said, 'Oh, I know who you are. You're Karen Edwards and Tom Becker. I listen to you on Fridays,'” Edwards said.
Becker and Edwards are among the familiar voices that are now a part of so many people’s lives. The service is also helpful for people who are print impaired, as well as people who have conditions like Parkinson’s Disease or ALS.
“With vision problems or because they've had a stroke or something that they have trouble holding printed material. It's difficult for them to read. So I think we're doing a good service with this. It makes me feel good, and I enjoy doing it,” Becker said.
The nonprofit helps create more equitable access to things many people often take for granted.
“We're, both of us are delighted to be here, and we'll keep doing it as long as we feel we can,” Becker said.
The North Carolina Reading Service also hosts interview shows with veterans, a Spanish broadcast program called “Que Pasa” and a show that shares disability rights information.
The easiest way to listen live is through their website where they also archive previous shows. The organization is a nonprofit, so they rely on donations to stay running.
To learn more about the resource, visit the North Carolina Reading Service website.