In this episode of our local program Making Democracy Work, host Dr. Hueping Chin speaks with Rick Orr general manager, and Matt Elliff both with the Blind Community Thrift Store.
Can you tell us what blind community thrift store is?
Orr: We're basically a thrift store that is just designed to raise funds to provide adaptive technology for blind and visually impaired individuals, and that can be anywhere from canes to magnifiers to services like training and things like that. And we just use the thrift store to raise funds for that. We've been around in this building since 2011. We've had a couple name changes through that time, but we're still doing the same purpose and have the same goal.
As a nonprofit organization. You mentioned about adaptive technology and one of the services you provide and you've been providing is the news reading program. I wonder if you or Matt can help us understand what that is.
Elliff: It's a particular radio reading service where they can read anything from. We just read newspapers, but others read magazines. Some have read books, even grocery store ads, other kinds of programs. But we just are doing the newspapers right now.
Are you talking about the local newspapers or what will be the content?
Elliff: The Springfield News-Leader and the Springfield Daily Citizen, which is online only, and then Springfield Business Journal, and then 417 Magazine. And we do have some other things that we also put on there, but those are the main ones that we focus on right now.
Tell us more about that that you're talking about. There will be readers and how does it work? You know, um, who will be doing the reading and where the readers can find your reading program to listen to.
Elliff: It's all done here at the store. They're volunteers. They just get a hold of part of the Blind Community thrift Store Facebook page. And you can message there or even or sometimes we will post about it, but that way. Rick will usually see those and can contact them as they would come in and get some training and just a little bit about what the service is and, and things like that. Look where the things are and kind of show where I do here, starting and stopping of the recording and checking on the time and stuff. That's what I mostly do. I talk to them some the readers and things like that.
Matt, as a blind person and then obviously that you don't read, but you do benefit from the reading program. Can you share us with your story or the stories that you heard from your other listeners?
Elliff: I've been playing my whole life. Not everybody can get to everything technology. It's a good way for people just to, you know, be able to turn on something and hear it right out. You know, they don't have to worry about, you know, they just read the articles. There's no interpretations.
And besides reading news, the local news and the business journal, do you have plans to, um, incorporate more readings, maybe book readings or news, national news or other information?
Elliff: We've got to talk about doing some book readings, but I'm not sure maybe other things later on, but nothing, you know, confirmed yet just kind of tossed around. Just maybe we might do something at some point.
My understanding is that you are also collaborating with the KSMU with this program.
Elliff: Yeah, the services here on the YouTube channel, it's the Blind Community Thrift Store YouTube channel. And then the Facebook page is the same name. And then, um, that gets done at 10 a.m. and then from 10 to 12 p.m. of course, then once that's over, once I get it stopped, then I upload it to KSMU. Well, to a reader in Lawrence, Kansas, who were going through that's who was sending the signal from it goes to them. And then it goes to communicate on the air from 3 to 4.
Wonderful. Well thank you. This is definitely a program benefiting a lot of people in our community. And so, um, well, um, you mentioned about, uh, maybe Rick can help us with the, uh, um, the information. How can listeners to get on your website or some more find more information?
Orr: The best way to find out just about the thrift store is our website. And it has links to our YouTube channel and Facebook page and all that.We are just Blind. Community Thrift Store on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. If you go on YouTube, you'll find that and you can find all of our radio reading service programs, as well as other training videos and movie reviews and music reviews that Matt and a few other people do on a regular basis.