About Us
What we do
The mission of the Georgia Radio Reading Service (GaRRS) is to improve the quality of life for every Georgian who is blind, visually impaired, or has difficulty with the printed word. Volunteer readers from across Georgia record approximately 200 different programs each month including essential local information, local and national newspapers, popular books, and an array of magazines and quality-of-life programming. The programming is broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and accessed by using an Amazon Alexa Dot, special radio, through our online webstream, by telephone, or by using a mobile app. Through these means we are able to provide our listeners with information, entertainment, and connections to their local communities.
Those we serve
The GaRRS listening audience is as diverse as our programming. We provide our service free-of-charge to any resident of Georgia who is visually-impaired or otherwise print-disabled. Some listeners are blind from birth, while others lost their sight through illness, age, or accident. Some have retained sufficient vision to remain physically active but lack enough vision to read. GaRRS listeners also include senior citizens who have trouble reading and people with physical or mental impairments that make handling printed material difficult such as:
- Macular Degeneration
- Blindness or Low Vision
- Stroke
- Glaucoma
- Cataracts
- Retinitis Pigmentosa
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Cerebral Palsy
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Arthritis
- Dyslexia and Other Reading Disabilities
How it works
Our programming is provided free of charge through the generosity of our supporters and donors. Funding is also provided in part by contributions from listeners. You can listen online, through a special GaRRS radio, over the phone, or through an app. To start listening, sign up to request a password to stream the broadcast online, or you can request a radio that will be sent to your home. We also have an extensive archive of previously-aired shows that can be accessed on our website.