This registered charity is always looking for people willing to take up the challenge of helping those less fortunate than themselves. Commitments and age of our helpers mean that we need new blood to ensure that the tapes can continue to be provided well into this new millennium. The time commitment is not onerous. Dependability and keeness are the prime assets.

Volunteers raise funds to finance the service ....

Volunteers select and read the items onto tape ....

Volunteers duplicate the tape ....

Volunteers check that those who receive the recordings have suitable machines to play them on....

The Post Office helps out by providing a free postal service....

....and The Witham United Reformed Church provides subsidised facilities for recording sessions.

Would you like to help?

HERE IS A POST BY POST GUIDE

Technical Officers

Available each Friday evening, for one month in three, to oversee the weekly recordings, using a six microphone plus two auxilary input mixing console with tape and CD input decks and recording tape deck to produce the master tape. Sound level control, continuity and audiability are the aims. Also to supervise the checking and editing of the tape before and during the duplicating process on a bank of copying machines to produce approximately 120 tapes. Time commitment is four hours on a Friday evening. (6.30-10.30). Training will be provided.

Tape Copiers

Available at least one Friday evening a month to duplicate the master tape 120 times on copying machines. Time commitment is just over an hour (9.15-10.30). You will be working with two or three other volunteers as part of a team. Non technical, and the training is minimal.

Tape Packers

Available one Friday evening every two months from 9.15 to 10.30. Duties relate to packing the duplicated tapes into already addressed pouches and maintaining the records of who has received each weekly edition through a central record book. Organisation is the key to this role and you will be working alongside the copiers. Some volunteers combine reading and packing to make a complete evening!

News Readers

Commitment is approximately once every two months to be one of a team of five recording the news items, in rota, on to the master tape. All the items read are selected on news value and may be edited for length. A clear voice is the only essential. You will be involved from 7.15 to about 9.00 on a Friday evening.

News Editors

Commitment is to choose and edit the items for reading obtained from the Braintree and Witham Times, The Halstead Gazette and The Maldon and Burnham Standard for each Friday in about two months of the year, and deliver the marked papers to the recording base in time for the Friday evening recordings.

Fund Raisers

Commitment is as much as you are prepared to give! The need is to organise and run events to make money to finance the weekly tape service, which is free to all the visually impaired people who receive them. Present fundraising includes annual street collections, square dances, quiz competitions and a New Years Eve dance. There are plenty of other avenues that could be explored. A committee of some 15 people provide full support and a special fundraising sub-committee of dedicated fundraisers is an aim. Those who can give more than limited time are involved in more than one activity.

All the present news editors are also readers, and many readers, for example, are also members of the packing rota.

Your total commitment is entirely up to you.......and do not worry if you have never done these jobs before, you will be fully trained by experienced volunteers. All the activities, except news editing and fund raising, are held in :-

IF YOU CAN ASSIST IN ANY WAY please contact:

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