From IFB Solutions:
INDUSTRIES FOR THE BLIND – ASHEVILLE MARKS 80TH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW NAME, LOGO
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 25, 2016) – Industries for the Blind Asheville unveiled this week its new name and logo during employee celebrations that also marked the organization’s 80th anniversary. The non-profit agency will now be known as “IFB Solutions”.
“Today IFB is more than an industrial manufacturer. We are an organization that creates valued solutions for our employees, our customers and the larger community,” says David Horton, IFB Solutions CEO. “We do that by creating jobs for people who are blind or visually impaired, delivering quality products, and serving the community with programs that help children and adults with vision challenges live more independent lives. To me, the name IFB Solutions is simply catching up to who we are today.”
Industries for the Blind Asheville began as Asheville Lions Industry for the Blind on Biltmore Avenue. They became a part of Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind in 1991. Today, IFB Solutions is the largest employer of people who are blind with three manufacturing facilities, including the one in Asheville, a large optical laboratory supplying VA optical centers across the Eastern Seaboard and more than 20 supply stores serving various government locations.
The name change announcement also coincides with October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. “Seventy percent of working-age Americans who are blind are not employed, so it is paramount that we pursue solutions to secure opportunities for our employees,” says Horton. “Technology and human ingenuity are opening new doors every day that help us turn jobs previously limited to people with sight into careers for people who are blind or visually impaired.”
Horton announced the new IFB Solutions name together with Randy Buckner, Director of Operations for IFB Solutions’ Asheville facility, at a special breakfast for employees. “Our success in providing employment opportunities is a direct result of our outstanding employees and the fine support we receive from our community,” says Buckner.
“I’m excited about the name change because it projects the can-do spirit we all have at IFB,” says EJ Ford, an employee in contract cutting. “It’s not about problems, it about finding innovative solutions and moving forward to an ever increasing independent life. You’ve got to be persistent and creative.”
IFB’s supporting foundation, which funds its community programs such as the Community Low Vision Centers, Tracy’s Little Red Schoolhouse, Sensitivity to Blindness Training and the Student Enrichment Experience (SEE), will now be named the IFB Solutions Foundation.
About IFB Solutions (IFB)
IFB Solutions is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1936 that provides employment, training and services for people who are blind or visually impaired. As the largest employer of people who are blind or visually impaired in the United States, IFB operates manufacturing facilities in Winston-Salem, N.C., Asheville, N.C., and Little Rock, Ark., in addition to more than 40 office supply stores and optical centers across the country. IFB Solutions funds employee training and services as well as community programs through its IFB Solutions Foundation, making possible the Community Low Vision Centers across North Carolina and in Little Rock, Arkansas, as well as Tracy’s Little Red Schoolhouse based in Winston-Salem. www.ifbsolutions.org
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