Rayleigh MP Mark Francois recently joined local civic dignitaries to help the Rayleigh, Rochford and Castle Point Talking Newspapers for the Blind celebrate their 30th anniversary. The voluntary organisation, which is one of a network of similar groups operating across most of the country, provides tapes and CDs for visually impaired people in South Essex, helping them to keep abreast of local news and events. The news bulletins are recorded by the group’s volunteer newsreaders and are then sent out in the post to recipients who have difficulty reading newspapers, who then play them back in order to help keep informed of local issues.
The Rayleigh, Rochford and Castle Point group was formed thirty years ago and has since provided thousands of tapes (and now increasingly CDs) for local residents. The group has charitable status and is headquartered at St Luke's Place, on the site of the old Rochford Hospital. Speaking about his support for the group, Rayleigh's MP Mark Francois said:
""This group provides a very valuable service for local residents who cannot normally read a local newspaper. The volunteers give up their spare time to help raise money and then use this to provide a service to help keep visually impaired people in touch with what is going on in their area. In the past I have recorded messages for the service as well and so I was very happy to go along and help celebrate their thirtieth anniversary. This was a very happy occasion, not least because the group brought along a number of their regular listeners to help join in the celebrations. I wish the group all the best of luck for the future.""