From the outside, the modest structure, once a private residence, on South Oakland Avenue near SIU appears to be quite ordinary. But the work a team of about 30 volunteers creates within the walls of the converted studio is anything but.

Each week, members of the community and university donate time to Southern Illinois Radio Information Service, stepping into what was once a bedroom and now contains little more than a desk, cabinets and a microphone to read newspaper articles shared across the airwaves with the blind and visually impaired.

Every day, a variety of content from local media such as The Southern Illinoisan, Marion Daily Republican and Mount Vernon Register-News is transmitted on a special radio frequency to 1,400 service subscribers in a 20-county area of Southern Illinois. Local stories are supplemented with national content from outlets such as Time, U.S. News and World Report and the Huffington Post, as well as more entertainment-based programming.

Each client, often recommended to SIRIS via social service referral, is provided with a free radio – valued at about $30 - and a programming guide, all free of charge. Listeners include individuals in their private residences, as well as those living in nursing homes, care facilities and assisted-living venues. Web-based digital streaming is being beta tested, which would allow for an even wider reach of audience.

“If they’re interested in a particular paper, they know when it’s on, and it’s on the same time every week,” said Jeff Williams, acting reading service director and station manager for WSIU Radio, which oversees the SIRIS program.

Material for broadcast is selected based on a variety of criteria, including regional diversity and interest of the audience. A majority of the content focuses on news, even though it’s usually at least a day late.

In recent years, though, an out-of-the-box request frequently popped up, and organizers decided to meet the demand. Retail sales fliers and advertisements were added into the mix about two to three years ago and remain one of the network’s most popular assets.

“We’ve found that most of our listeners approach the newspaper just like anyone else would,” Williams said.

Meet Mike Mulford

Taking his seat behind the microphone one Thursday afternoon earlier this month, Mike Mulford of Carterville unfolds a copy of the Du Quoin Evening Call, glancing over the day’s articles, noting particularly difficult pronunciations. Preparation is key.

“Some of the names can be extremely difficult,” he said.

When he’s ready, Mulford clears his throat, positions his microphone, hits the record button and begins reading an article about a local video gaming event. When he’s finished, he hits the stop button and the file is automatically transmitted to a control station, where it will be finalized and set for broadcast.

The production process is that simple for volunteers.

“We have a very simple system that’s easy for all of them,” Williams said. “They don’t have to worry about the technology; they can focus on whatever story they’re telling.”

Mulford, who also has a show on local community radio, has been sharing stories with SIRIS subscribers on and off since 2009. He learned of the program while pursuing a master’s degree in multimedia, driving by the house-turned-studio every day and wondering what it was, and saw an opportunity to serve the community.

“I’m the one who reaps a lot of the benefits,” he said. “I learn a lot, and there’s a great sense of camaraderie here.”

Mulford recently took the opportunity to sit in on a recording session with another SIRIS volunteer to gain a new perspective on his own work and look for techniques he could use. It’s an opportunity for personal and professional growth while simultaneously serving a positive cause. His hope, he said, is to hear from the listeners themselves.

“I get a new perspective on how people listen to use read the newspaper. You look at things differently when you listen to yourself,” Mulford said. “I’d really like feedback from them. I’d like to know what they like, what they don’t, what’s important to them and what’s not.”

A heart to serve

Most of the volunteers are like Mulford – everyday citizens looking for a way to serve others and make a difference in their community.

“They’re community members; they’re SIU students,” Williams said. “Some do this around their regular work schedule; others are retired and do this to stay active.”

Volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds, representing a plethora of races, economic statuses and educational experiences. Students from fields including mass communications, social work and education have gained experience that helps prepare them for the future through serving with the organization.

Some, like Mulford, stumble across the opportunity, while others are led to it by past experiences or someone they know.

“They almost all have a story,” Williams said. “It’s a job, in a way, but it’s also sort of a mission. They connect to what we’re doing.”

For Sarah Maher, who is completing her first semester as student operations manager at SIRIS, the first knowledge of programs like this came from her grandfather, who listened to similar programming in the Peoria area.

As a radio/TV major at SIU, working at SIRIS has provided Maher with an opportunity to learn and apply her craft in a hands-on atmosphere. In addition to managing SIRIS volunteers, scheduling programming and handling some technical duties, she also works a shift at SIRIS parent outlet WSIU.

“It’s really cool,” she said of her service with SIRIS. “It’s always nice knowing you’re doing something that will help someone else, especially someone underrepresented.”

She only wishes more people were aware of the program and its goals. Therein lies one of the challenges.

Facing challenges

Like all nonprofit outreach efforts and organizations, the staff and volunteers at SIRIS face a number of hurdles. One of the toughest is simply awareness, Williams said. Though SIRIS has operated since the early 1980s, the focus on a narrow percentage of the population has limited exposure. Calling the service “a best kept secret,” Williams said he’d prefer the secret be revealed.

“Once people find out what we do and that we’ve been here so long, they’re our best source of marketing because they’ll talk about their experiences here and help us grow,” he said.

Another aspect of that growth is finding new clients. Needs vary drastically among those in blind and visually impaired community. Individuals who spent their whole lives with impaired sight have often developed their own systems, leaving them less dependent on a service like SIRIS than someone who lost his or her vision later in life.

In addition to awareness, funding and staffing represent the next biggest challenges. Grants and community support keep operations going, but other resources are drying up, much like they are for other nonprofit organizations.

Staffing has been scaled back from two student workers to just one, and after the retirement of the long-time SIRIS reading service director, Williams has absorbed those duties, at least for the time being, as part of his role as WSIU station manager.

Despite the challenges, Williams believes the future looks bright and that SIRIS will continue to provide the service its clients have come to expect and admire.

“We’d love to be able to do more, but we try to maximize our local services with what resources we have,” he said. “We’ve been quite successful and had good luck with that.”