ABOUT GRANTHAM TALKING NEWSPAPER

The Grantham and District Talking Newspaper provides a weekly CD of local news to the blind and sight-impaired people in the areas around Grantham. All of the work is carried out by volunteers. It is a registered charity, and has a board of trustees to govern it.

A Brief History 

The origins of the Grantham Talking Newspaper go back to 1982 when a group of people got together and set about turning a need into a reality. The group comprised a mixture of volunteers, including a number of blind and partially-sighted people, drawn from various organizations with an interest in improving services for the visually impaired.

It took 14 months to raise sufficient money to buy the very expensive equipment needed for a Talking Newspaper. The first cassette tape was sent to 75 listeners in December 1983. It lasted 60 minutes and was produced once a fortnight.

The numbers receiving the Grantham Talking Newspaper, now lasting 90 minutes, today stands at about 50. It goes out fregularly in CD format and includes an interesting magazine section.

In order to secure our long-term future, we took an enormous step in 1997 and bought our own premises. Appropriately the shop was once Halls, the Opticians.

In 2005 we were awarded The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in the Community.