BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- For nearly 100 years, a Southern Tier non-profit has proved a lack of vision doesn’t have to stop you from living out a full life.

The Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment, or AVRE, provides jobs and job training to over 60 blind or visually impaired men and women.

Ninety percent of the workers at this factory are either blind or visually impaired, according to Luigi DiRusso, production manager for the Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment.

"Because of our agency here, we have individuals who typically may not be able to go on the workforce because your employers don't want to take a chance on blind individuals, where we give them an opportunity to, to be taught to come here, to be independent and to be successful," said DiRusso.

And those opportunities are more important now than ever.

About 70% of blind people are currently out of work nationwide, making a service like this critically important.

"Some choose not to work or they don't feel that they have the ability to work because of their vision loss. Others just haven't been given that opportunity to learn how to,” said Kenny Fernando, president and CEO of the Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment.

AVRE has been providing those opportunities since 1926. And these jobs are especially important. The men and women in this plant produce everything from manilla folders, to military tarps to copy paper for the federal government.

"Very rarely, if ever, do we ever get a call from a customer saying that they're having problems with our paper. And that's what we talk a lot of pride in," said DiRusso.

2023 also marks 85 years since the passing of the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act, a law requiring the federal government to purchase supplies from non-profits and organizations employing blind individuals. Eighty-five years later, it’s empowering a whole new generation.

“It’s a win-win. We’re creating independence, we're creating jobs and employment, while at the same time we're providing quality products to the federal government at a, at a fair price," said Fernando.

Along with employment, AVRE provides assistance for the visually impaired in the community, including vision assessments, and a children’s program.