Sun Sounds benefit showcases broadcasting service for the disabled

Thanks to almost 80 local volunteers, Sun Sounds is a beacon of information for more than 15,000 people with visual and physical impairments in Southern Arizona.

“Our volunteers are as young as 16 and the oldest is 93. They are the most fantastic people you can imagine and without them we wouldn’t be able to operate,” said Shawn Frothingham, the volunteer coordinator for Sun Sounds of Arizona, which provides audio access to print information for people who cannot read or hold print material due to a disability.

Clients includes those with a wide range of visual impairments — such as blindness and macular degeneration — as well as physical impairments such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, paralysis and more.

Sun Sounds, which went on the air locally in 1985, broadcasts readings 24/7 of more than 200 local and national publications monthly on the radio, smart-home devices, the internet and as a livestream or podcast from studios in Tucson, Tempe and Flagstaff. It reaches more than 30,000 people statewide and is also accessible to listeners in hospitals, residential facilities and hospice situations.

The nonprofit prides itself on the fact that all services are free. Free closed-circuit radios are provided for those in need and no one is ever turned away.

“We have a huge variety of topics that are discussed and when you are losing your vision or have lost your vision, your world becomes shrunken to a much smaller scope than what you were accustomed to before,” Frothingham said. “Sun Sounds can serve as a companion — someone reading to you and someone you can learn from 24/7. And since many of our volunteers have been reading for years, it is also a familiar voice.”

Sun Sounds offers live readings twice a day of the Arizona Daily Star and USA Today, as well as readings of The Wall Street Journal, Western classics, short stories, science fiction, “Arizona Highways,” poetry and cuentos (stories or tales) in Spanish.

It also provides a weekly reading of grocery ads every Wednesday called Sun Savers, as well as “Our Voices, Our Sounds,” which covers minority issues and culture; and prerecorded programs featuring “Talking Books.”

Roseann Haines, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty, is among the volunteers with diverse backgrounds — including physicians, attorneys, judges, poets, deacons, RV Park owners, teachers, federal and state employees and tour guides — who puts her voice to work during both live and prerecorded readings.

Haines said she learned about Sun Sounds when she discovered its studio across from the real estate school she was attending.

“I had done some recording and narration for films and recorded commercials in the past and thought, ‘I would love to do this.’ I also record audiobooks and have them available on Audible, so it allows me the opportunity to do something really positive while keeping my voice exercised, so it is a good thing,” said Haines.

Haines, who used to work at a 55-and-older resort, also relishes the opportunity to help seniors and those who are visually impaired. She was also touched by a letter sent by a family that had recently returned a receiver to the studio.

“Their mother had passed away and the card was full of gracious and heartfelt thanks to Sun Sounds for being there,” Haines said. “They had been unable to convince their mom to come live with them and Sun Sounds kept her company and made her laugh and kept her informed, so when they saw her she could hold conversations and know what was going on in the world.

“She wasn’t as lonely and that really struck me. Before I left, I knew I had to be part of it.”

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She has also made it her mission to help spread awareness about the nonprofit organization, which relies on grants, donations, fundraisers and program underwriting.

Haines donates a portion of every commission on home sales to a local charity; Sun Sounds is one of six nonprofits that her clients can choose to support.

“Every single time they have to ask me what it is. Unfortunately, most people don’t know about Sun Sounds and we need to get the word out,” Haines said. “Even people who aren’t visually impaired can listen and get the news and listen to books they otherwise might not have heard of before.”

To help boost awareness even further — and hopefully funnel more funds to Sun Sounds — Haines has made a commitment this year to donate 100% of her net commission from every 10th home sale to a charity.

“I have had people look at me like I am insane, but if I donate 100% of every 10th transaction, I can still pay my bills and yet really make an impact. If nothing else, it brought a lot of attention to the idea of giving and I feel that is really positive,” she said.

Mark DeGrofft is another volunteer who assists with outreach in nursing homes and hospice settings, while also producing a show every Saturday morning that features a reading of the Arizona Daily Star with other news and music.

DeGrofft, who has volunteered for 10 years, said he is happy to use his background in radio and electronic media production.

“It is a wonderful place to volunteer. It is like a huge family. Everyone enjoys what they do and is dedicated to taking care of folks less fortunate than the rest of us,” DeGrofft said.

DeGrofft emphasized that his outreach has provided the opportunity to understand the importance of Sun Sounds to clients.

“You talk with people and realize how they look forward to it and how the only real means for them to get information is by listening to Sun Sounds,” DeGrofft said. “It is something that keeps people connected to the world, whether they are learning how to vote or how get from place to place and other things that we take for granted. The folks who are impaired don’t really have that access without Sun Sounds.”

The public can come together to learn more about Sun Sounds during its upcoming fundraiser, “Celebrate Sun Sounds,” on Feb. 26 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Tucson Reid Park.

“We are hoping to raise as much as we can. As a nonprofit, we beg for every penny we get and if someone gives a $5 donation, we are dancing for joy. We are constantly writing for grants and looking for sponsors. It is a struggle, but it is worth it,” said Frothingham.

Overall, DeGrofft said he believes “Celebrate Sun Sounds” will provide a unique chance for the public to connect with Sun Sounds.

“We are all connected; we have to give back and take care of each other. That has always been my credo,” he said.