CRIS Radio

CRIS Radio

Connecticut Radio Information System, or CRIS Radio, has been an important resource in Windsor for 20 years. The nonprofit organization seeks to provide audio-access services for people who are blind or print-challenged. Through connecting with patients in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities, seniors in assisted living facilities, and children with special needs in schools and after-school programs, the organization has massively expanded its reach. In the last decade, the number of people with access to these programs has grown from 4,000 people in 2010, to 90,000 people in 2021. This vital programming, however, is funded almost entirely through fundraising and donations. Fundraisers were made nearly impossible by the pandemic, and donations were limited, due to many companies and organizations also struggling with the financial impacts of COVID. This left the nonprofit, and its programming, in a very precarious position. The ARF Grant awarded them $10,000, which will help to mitigate some of their losses, and sustain programming. It will be a long road to recovery for CRIS Radio, but the grant funds will make it just that much easier to get to the finish line.