The Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped records materials on a first-come, first-serve basis for registered patrons. Call your Reader Advisor at 800-992-9012 to inquire about having materials recorded for your personal use by our corps of volunteers.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

OTHER RECORDING SOURCES

Readings for the Blind
29451 Greenfield Road, Suite 118
Southfield, Michigan 48076
Attention: Dorren Murphy
(248) 557-7776

Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic (Michigan Office)
5600 Rochester Road
Troy, Michigan 48098
(248) 879-0101

Message Makers Multimedia
1217 Turner
Lansing, Michigan 48906-4341
(517) 482-3333

BRAILLE SOURCES

Michigan Association of Transcribers for the Visually Impaired (MATVI)
HCR4 Box 2746
Lewiston, Michigan 49756
Attention: CaraLynn Pender
(517) 786-5311

Michigan Braille Transcribing Service
4000 Cooper Street
Jackson, Michigan 49201
Attention: Fran Wonders
(517) 780-6637

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

The Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped is not currently accepting auditions for new volunteer narrators. There are two other recording agencies for people with disabilities in Michigan who are accepting volunteers. The differences between the two are outlined below.

If you are in junior high or high school and seeking volunteer opportunities, please see the section for students.

RFBD records educational materials for patrons. They have one location in Michigan: a 9-booth studio in Troy (four digital and five analog). 99% of the textbooks recorded at the Troy office are college level.

RFBD is looking for volunteers who are over the age of 18 and prefers volunteers who have some post-secondary school education. There is no audition, however volunteers must first become directors (what we call "monitors") in order to familiarize themselves with the process of recording a book and learn equipment operation, procedures, and standards. This takes approximately 30-50 hours depending on the volunteer. After this training, volunteers will be asked to both narrate and monitor depending on what is needed in the studio. RFBD requires volunteers to work at least one two-hour shift each week. Project assignments are based on expertise and organizational needs - volunteers may not choose their projects.

RFBD conducts one hour tours of its facility for prospective volunteers during the first week of each month. Call to schedule.

Readings for the Blind records materials requested by eligible patrons, primarily students. An audition for prospective volunteers is required. Readings for the Blind requires that volunteers work 4 hours per week and commit to one year of service. They do not have studio facilities and all volunteer work is done at home on APH machines. Due to the nature of the materials that are commonly requested, Readings for the Blind cannot accommodate juvenile volunteers.

Due to the nature of our program, we can accomodate young voices only rarely. At this time we are not accepting volunteers of any age. The two other large recording agencies in Michigan are not currently accepting junior high or high school students. However, we are able to train student volunteers and a parent or guardian may check out recording equipment for home use or approve access to the SBPH recording studio for the duration of the volunteer period. In this case, students would need to find their own recording work. I recommend contacting the Teacher Consultant for the Visually Impaired in your area. You can get their name from any local public school. The Teacher Consultant for the Lansing school district is Cheryl Lutz at 517-325-6097. These teacher consultants are responsible for obtaining classroom materials for students who use Braille or recorded materials. They are often in need of local young people who can record materials for fellow students.