Triangle Business Journal Story on RLCB Call Center, 5 Jobs for Blind Employees

Excerpted from the Triangle Business Journal. Pictures and the full story are available online at the Triangle Business Journal site.

The Raleigh Lions Clinic for the Blind, which these days goes by the name RLCB, is doing its part to create jobs for the blind, thanks in part to a new contract with a 72-year-old national nonprofit.

RLCB has hired five sight-impaired workers in an expansion of its Raleigh call center operation to service the new contact with the National Industries for the Blind.

“With the jobless rate among the blind now running at about 70 percent, any job created is substantial,” says agency spokeswoman Sharon Giovinazzo.

The call center, which employs around 15 and contracts with a number of business clients for short-term jobs,was tapped by the Alexandria, Va.-based NIB to handle national calls for SKILCRAFT products sold to federal agencies and the U.S. Department of Defense [through the AbilityOne Program/JWOD]. The center will also handle customer fulfillment, including
catalog requests and distribution of brochures and sales collateral, under the deal.

Congressman Walter Jones Receives Prestigious

[picture left to right: Heather Broussard, LAB Communications; Rep. Walter Jones; Shelly Taylor, CEO LAB]Washington, D.C. ­ Representative Walter Jones (R-3rd-North Carolina) was recently named an AbilityOne Champion, in recognition of his efforts creating good paying jobs with excellent benefits for people who are blind. RLCB Inc. CEO Janet Griffey presented the AbilityOne Champion award to Rep. Jones at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 10.

The AbilityOne Champion Award is given by National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and its associated nonprofit agencies to honor members of Congress for their commitment to the creation of good paying jobs with excellent benefits for individuals who are blind at a net cost savings to the federal government.

NIB and its 88 community-based nonprofit agencies serve as the largest employer for people who are blind by the sale of SKILCRAFT® products and services through the AbilityOne Program to the federal government. The program employs nearly 6,000 individuals who are blind, who produce products ranging from military uniforms to pens, and provide services such as call center operations.

“We are so fortunate to have Representative Jones in Congress supporting our actions to create good paying jobs with excellent benefits for people who are blind,” said Griffey. “Congressman Jones understands that the current 70 percent unemployment rate in our community is unacceptable and he is willing to take action. The award honors his continued commitment to employ people who are blind.”

Congressman Walter Jones stated, “I am very pleased to have received this honor from NIB. I have always wanted to help our citizens who have endured challenges and are still eager and willing to work hard and prove themselves when given the opportunity. I was very impressed with the quality of work I saw at the Raleigh Lions Club meeting on February 8. The quality of this work proves that when people are given an opportunity, great things can happen.”