Audio-Reader, a Lawrence nonprofit group that brings the news to visually impaired people, is wanting to thank its donors Sunday at an appreciation ceremony.

Now, because of a Postal Service snafu, the group’s officials are worried no one will know to show.

On Jan. 27, reception organizers stuffed, licked and mailed 1,700 invitations to everyone who has donated money to Audio-Reader.

But only a few invitations reached their destinations, Audio-Reader director Diana Frederick said.

Frederick said she began to wonder what was going on after she noticed few people had responded to the invitation.

“We started getting concerned. We contacted the post office, and they let us know there was indeed a problem,” Frederick said.

Lawrence Postmaster Bill Reynolds said mail deposited with the Lawrence post office was sent to Kansas City, Mo., for sorting.

But the majority of the envelopes never were returned to Lawrence because of “problems with postal processing,” Reynolds said. “We apologize sincerely; we don’t like having that happen at all.”

Reynolds said the invitations still might turn up — maybe after the event. Regular and bulk mail cannot be traced, so the post office cannot pinpoint the current location of the invitations.

¢ 6News video: Invites to Audio-Reader donor apprecation event lost¢Audio reader

Audio-Reader uses bulk mail because it is the less expensive way to reach people, but this mailing still cost the organization several hundred dollars, Frederick said.

Reynolds said the U.S. Postal Service handled 600 million pieces of mail every day and this sort of occurrence rarely happened.

“As of yet we don’t know what the exact cause was,” Reynolds said.

Despite the setback, Frederick said, the reception is still on and anyone who has made a contribution to Audio-Reader can come Sunday, with or without an invitation.

“It’s the one time of the year we show our gratitude and appreciation to people who financially support Audio-Reader,” Frederick said.

Since October 1971, Audio-Reader has been bringing the printed word to the blind and print-disabled via closed-circuit radio. The service is supported solely through private contributions.