About our charity...  

The East Surrey Talking Newspaper was founded in 1977 to serve the residents of Reigate & Banstead in Surrey. Our Newspaper was created by Michael Finch, who was then a local Radio and Television shop proprietor. His inspiration came from a talk to the Reigate Rotary Club during the year in which he was their President. 

Every two weeks our editor selects items from local newspapers, principally the Surrey Mirror. In our studio four readers read out the selected items, and our recordist produces a master digital file on a computer.

Our team of volunteers copy the master recording onto memory sticks so that there are enough for each of our recipients. The memory sticks are enclosed in bright yellow pouches, and these are then taken to the local Post Office for dispatch. They deliver the pouches at no cost to our Charity or our recipients.

Recipients plug the memory stick into their BoomBox speakers. Once they have listened to the newspaper they return their memory stick in the pouche by the end of the week. The pouches can then be delivered back to the studio ready for rerecording. 

 The whole organisation is staffed by volunteers.