“Alexa, play VOICEcorps.”

Dale Pennington, of Columbus, lives with a vision impairment. He has been eagerly anticipating the ability to use his Amazon Echo to hear daily newspapers, magazines and other current print read aloud. Now, he can.

“Many of the people who depend on VOICEcorps for access to print news and information use our special radios to listen, “ said Mark Jividen, VOICEcorps executive director. “We’ve been streaming the service online for years, now we’ve added our audio stream to Alexa. That makes it easier for people who are living with vision loss to hear us.”

For many people who are blind, visually impaired or have another disability that prevents reading, using any form of internet is too expensive. There is, however, a growing number of individuals who use VOICEcorps on their smartphones and now, on Alexa. Pennington uses Alexa to hear The Columbus Dispatch and to keep current on Columbus area news.

More than 200 volunteers donate more than 10,000 hours each year to read aloud from current print publications, including The Delaware Gazette, at VOICEcorps. The service is on radio, internet and local cable is free to eligible persons.

VOICEcorps has volunteers who live in Delaware County, as well as listeners, too. Its annual golf outing takes place in Delaware County.

Contact VOICEcorps at (614) 274-7650 to learn more.