WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — IFB Solutions is the country's largest employer of the blind and visually impaired, according to its website.
What You Need To Know
IFB Solutions to hire 60 new employees from ARPA grant from Winston-Salem
The campus has a Community Low Vision Center, a schoolhouse to teach daily tasks and more
To learn more about open positions, visit IFB's career portal
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there are 12 million people, 40 or older, who have a vision impairment in the United States.
The CEO of IFB Solutions, who is blind, says that for 38% of his employees, working at the nonprofit is their first job.
Employees make mattresses, manage Amazon storefronts, and sew cold tech weather jackets and advanced combat shirts for the Army.
IFB is under a $36 million contract over 28 months for the production of special clothing for fuel handlers in the military.
The company also received an up to $300,000 reimbursement grant through the American Rescue Plan Act from Winston-Salem in August for 60 new jobs making cold tech weather jackets.
IFB has 450 employees, including Timothy Fair.
Fair has been with the nonprofit for four years, starting with sewing.
“It was kind of neat learning how to sew, but it was not for me,” Fair said.
He now works as a material handler and packer, checking the boxes to make sure their inventory is correct.
“Where I'm from, there's not a lot of opportunities for people with disabled and vision impairment,” said Fair, who lost his part of his sight in a motorcycle accident when he was 15.
He says after his accident, he didn’t know what work he could do and was at a standstill.
“But it feels good being part of the working, you know, corporate world,” Fair said.
He said landing a job at IFB gave him the confidence to know he would succeed.
“It gives people a chance to really get out and be on their own and live life and be independent,” Fair said.
IFB has a Community Low Vision Center on campus, helping those who have macular degeneration or who may have recently lost their sight.
Tracy’s Little Red Schoolhouse, on the IFB campus, has been working with the community since 2012. Inside the schoolhouse are classrooms and programs that teach independent living and Braille. It includes musical instruments to help with posture and figure strength, and a kitchen to learn cooking skills and table settings.
“Opportunity is not going to come to you," Fair said. "You just got to want it, the one for yourself. And there is hope. If you can't do it by yourself, there is hope. There is programs and jobs like this that will give you a chance."
To learn more about positions at IFB Solutions, visit its career portal.