Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1503133
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JULY 5 - 11, 2023 UCW 13 Vision Resource Center has been assisting the visually im- paired and blind in Fayetteville since 1939 and its reading service is one of the newer innovations since its conception. Vision Resource Center has a 24/7 stream where those in the Fayetteville community can hear local news, obituaries and other happenings in the community. Terri omas, executive direc- tor at the center, explained more about the service. e stream contains content omas and volunteers read live or pre-record articles from local newspapers and magazines. e service is accessible to the blind or visually impaired via Zeno Ra- dio, Alexa, online or a telephone call-in. Content includes some entertainment news as well. e fresh content comes on from noon to 2 p.m. From 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. audio books, podcasts and uplifting content can be heard. From there, the previous content streams on until the new content comes on at 12 p.m. the next day. ere are several ways to listen to the stream. e first is by using the websites visionresourcecen- tercc.org or vrcvlyreadingservice. org. Secondly, listeners can dial-in to the number 1-518-801-1347. irdly, streamers can down- load the Zeno Radio app. e final way to listen is to ask Amazon's Alexa to open VRCVLY Reading Service. When prompt- ed, say, "Listen Live." Currently, they have about 76 listeners but omas knows more will come in time. e Road to the Reading Service For those wondering how the reading service started, omas said it started with COVID. She said during COVID-19 clients of the Vision Resource Center let her know they needed to know what was going on with COVID. ey also needed other forms of entertainment. She said a Fayetteville non- profit at one point in time did have a radio service located on the Fayetteville State University campus where they read newsy information out to those visually impaired or blind. She said that service was discontinued. omas explained to the VRC Board that an organization in Raleigh could help the VRC fill the gap where listeners could listen via radio. Rocky Mount had a similar service. omas said she was research- ing the two and learning more about how to bring those services to Fayetteville. She said using ra- dio seemed like a great platform, but she knew streaming was what everybody used. Johnathan Milam from Win- ston-Salem contacted omas and put together the VRC-VLY website and station remotely. e VLY stands for Virginia Lilly Yarborough. According to om- as, Yarborough was one of the VRC's biggest supporters and she loved listening to audio books. omas said it was only fitting to ask her husband and family if the VRC could name the service in her honor. omas said the service started in 2020. She went on a sabbatical in 2021. ey relaunched again in March 2023 because she has been looking for more volunteers to help with the reading service. Volunteers needed omas said she wants to make VRC-VLY more accessible so anyone can access it. She said she already noticed senior citizens utilizing it. She just needs more volunteers to make it happen. "People who want to volunteer and get more volunteer hours can do the readings at the VRC or virtually," omas said. Volunteers can come to the VRC at noon and read either for one or two hours. A reading partner will be there, too, so one person is only reading part of the time. Another option is to pre-record the news segment at the VRC or via Zoom from 9 to 11 a.m. to upload before noon. omas said volunteers can record via Zoom while another person is at the VRC at noon. Call the center at 910-483-2719 for more information. COVER KATRINA WILSON, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200 Vision Resource Center hosts reading service for blind and visually impaired by KATRINA WILSON Volunteers Alexis, Fred and Erica read news and entertainment content for VRC-VLY, the Vision Recourse Center's reading service for the blind and visu- ally impaired. (Photos courtesy Vision Resource Center) Terri omas, executive director of the Vision Resource Center, says the reading service pro- vides live and pre-recorded content from local newspapers and magazines. e Vision Resource Center held a ribbon cut- ting for the reading service VRC-VLY, named in honor of Virginia Lilly Rankin Yarborough, a supporter of the Center.