An organisation is preparing to celebrate 50 years of supporting the south Cumbrian community next week.
The South Lakes Talking Newspaper Association will be marking the milestone at Netherfield Cricket Club in Kendal on Thursday, July 17 between noon and 4pm.
The charity, run by a small committee and four trustees, has kept visually impaired residents in the region up to date with local news and events by creating audio versions of the biggest headlines.
READ MORE: Rotary Club of Furness celebrates long serving member | The Mail
They broadly serve the South Lakes area from Ambleside in the north to Grange over Sands and Arnside in the south, from Coniston and Ulverston in the west to Sedbergh and Kirkby Lonsdale in the east.
Detailing its history, Chair Dawn Bonham said: "The charity was born from discussions with the then editor of the Westmorland Gazette, and came into being with the help of the Westmorland Voluntary Society for the Blind [now Sight Advice South Lakes].
"The editor and publishers gave their permission to use material from the paper and SLTNA are grateful for their continuing support and co-operation.
"It was originally recorded on reel to reel tapes before being transferred to a limited number of cassettes which were then passed from listener to listener."
READ MORE: Lake District: New Ambleside event celebrates local talent | The Mail
In 2008, with assistance from the Gannett Foundation, the organisation stepped into the digital age, recording onto USB memory sticks.
Dawn added: "These are played on dedicated USB players provided to listeners by the SLTNA, and the recordings are now available online, worldwide.
"There is a weekly recording of the main news, a Christmas magazine and quarterly seasonal magazines which draw from wider publications.
"All this is the result of work of approximately 40 volunteers, editing, reading, recording, rostering, copying, dispatching and collecting."
READ MORE: Grange Soroptimists raise more than £10,000 for ShelterBox | The Mail
Since its formation, over 20,000 volunteer hours have been committed, producing 6,000 hours of recordings and over 500,000 cassettes or USB sticks.
Funding is entirely from voluntary contributions, local charitable trusts and other groups, from individual bequests and occasionally from listeners.
In the current financial year, the SLTNA is being supported by the Frieda Scott Trust, The Cumbria Foundation and Kendal Town Council.
The group is also on the lookout for new volunteers, with those interested encouraged to contact chair.sltna@gmail.com.
Share