IFB Beat – Week of February 21, 2023

Quick Links:

News to Know
– February is Low Vision Awareness Month
– What’s Happening: On the Floor!

Programs and Services
– Winston-Salem Red Cross Blood Drive
– Winston-Salem Second Harvest Food Bank Volunteers Needed
– VIPS 2 Minute Table Topics
– SEE what S.E.E. is Doing!
– Adult Support Group Meetings

Community Low Vision Centers
– CLVC Item of the Week
– CLVC Item of the Month

Insider Corner

Community Connections

HR and Opportunities – Job Postings

Support Group Zoom Meeting Links

News to Know

February is Low Vision Awareness Month

Did You Know?
1. Eye care professionals use the term “low vision” to describe significant visual impairment that cannot be corrected with standard glasses, contact lenses, medicine, or eye surgery.
2. In 2002, more than 161 million people globally were found to be visually impaired. Of these 161 million, 124 million people had low vision and 27 million people were blind.
3. Sometimes low vision involves a lack of acuity, meaning that objects appear blurred. Other times, it involves a significant loss of peripheral vision and visual field.
4. Anyone with reduced vision not corrected by spectacles or contact lenses can be considered to be visually impaired. The World Health Organization uses specific classifications to determine different levels of visual impairment.

People diagnosed with an eye disease or condition that causes visual impairment may not know where to start to find the right services. Take some time this Low Vision Awareness Month to spread the word about the great customer care IFB Solutions provides through the Community Low Vision Center. Read more about the Community Low Vision Centers and their resources!

 

Meet Grant Weathers, a staff member at the Community Low Vision Center in Asheville NC.
Grant has been a member of the Low Vision family for 8 years. He started losing his vision in 2007 due to Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy . When Grant is not helping a customer in the Low Vision center, he is enjoying a game of blind golf. Grant states “I enjoy the opportunity to work with people that are coping with changes in their vision.”
Stop by the CLVC and be assisted by our friendly staff of low vision associates that understand!

What’s Happening – On the Floor!

This week, we introduce to you a new section to share activity and updates from the production floor. If you have news to share, or ideas for us to explore, please reach out to Anastasia Powell at apowell@ifbsolutions.org or 336-245-5698.

The Advanced Combat Shirt, or ACS, is manufactured in the Winston-Salem facility from material cut at the Asheville facility. IFB’s longstanding contract has produced thousands of these shirts for the Army. In the Winston-Salem facility, the 80-person team has historically produced 300 shirts a day, each containing sixty pieces and components. Recently the team, supervised by Rikki Moosbrugger and supported by production assistants Gabriela Ramirez and Oralia Delacruzher, have ramped up their production to where they are now sewing 500 shirts daily. On January 31, the team reached a record high of 612 shirts! Rikki is incredibly proud of her team, noting that this was possible because of their “it starts with me” attitude.
It’s awesome to see IFB’s core value of Mission Possible in action! Keep up the good work ACS team!

 

Programs and Services

Winston-Salem Red Cross Blood Drive Hosted by AAA Committee

Raise your sleeve, and save a life!

Did you know?
Every 2 seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. Your donations assist with heart surgeries, revitalizing accident victims, organ transplant recipients, and patients needing lifesaving procedures. So, will you raise your sleeve and save a life?

When: April 12, 2023
Where: Tad’s Room (Winston-Salem)
Time: 10:00 am-2:30 pm, Contact your supervisor to set up an appointment to donate.
Admin contact: Shonn Redmond at sredmond@ifbsolutions.org or X5672

 

Winston-Salem Second Harvest Food Bank Volunteers Needed

The AAA Committee is hosting another Second Harvest Foodbank volunteering opportunity on March 15th. If your open to helping others, providing service to your community, and have a big heart contact Shonn Redmond at: sredmond@ifbsolutions.org or X5672 to sign up.

 

Winston-Salem VIPS 2 Minute Table Topics

Love to talk and voice your opinions? VIPS is hosting its first annual 2 Minute Table Topics competition April 4th at noon in Tad’s room. Open to all Winston employees, enter to speak for your chance to win cash prizes for first and second place winners.

What are 2 Minute Table Topics?
You will be asked a random question. There are no right or wrong responses, just your opinion. You have two minutes to provide an answer. However the catch is these answers are structured with an opening, body, and closing.

Rules:
In order to compete, participants must attend one VIPS meeting for hands on experience answering Table Topics and sign up by March 21st.

Upcoming VIPS meeting Dates:
February 21, March 7, & March 21.

Contact Shonn Redmond or Chris Flynt in the Low Vision Center for more information. Light refreshments will be provided.

 

See what S.E.E. is doing!

Thank you to everyone who donated to the Braille/large print Valentine’s Day message and candy bar project. Nearly $200 was raised for the S.E.E. kids. We appreciate your support. How heart-warming!

A big thank you to IFB employees Diana Soto, Elizabeth, and Raina for making Valentine’s Day special for the S.E.E. kids in the schoolhouse with gifts, snacks, and lots of positive affirmation.

 

Adult Support Group Meetings:

• Tuesday, February 21 VIPS Club meeting from 12:00-1:00 in TADS Room.
• Wednesday, February 22 AAA Committee meeting from 12:00-1:00 in TADS Room.
• Thursday, February 23 Blind Ambitions support group meeting from 12:00-12:45 in TADS Room.

 

Community Low Vision Center

CLVC Item of the Week:

Keys-U-See Large Print Keyboard for $45.00

Easily See Your Computer Keyboard! This Keys-U-See Large Print Keyboard with yellow, white, and black Print has been designed specifically for those with conditions that cause visual impairment or low vision.

 

CLVC February Item of the Month:

Desk-Top Talking Calculator for $13.85

Clear Female Voice and Big Display for Low Vision | This full function calculator features a giant 8-digit display and a clear, easy to understand female voice. Also features repeat, memory, auto power shut-off, and adjustable volume.

 

If you are interested in purchasing Low Vision Equipment through our Loan Program (3rd Party), please contact a Low Vision Coordinator for assistance. 

 

Insider Corner

Have a story, new article, app, or interesting fact you want to share. Email Faith Harding at fharding@ifbsolutions.org and we will post it.

 

Community Connections

Global Survey for Persons with Disability in Disaster-Prone Areas

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) is once again conducting a survey designed for persons with disability or caregivers to share their experience of living in disaster-prone areas. It will be open until Friday, March 3, 2023. The survey is currently available in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

TAKE THE SURVEY (Note: the survey link is in English; to change the language, click on the top-right dropdown arrow that has Text: “English United States”)

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=2zWeD09UYE-9zF6kFubccNHdwAfkb09Amu3bZbj99-xUNzZIREdLR0tVRFJNV0VFNDgxSEZDRFRVMC4u

This is a 10-year follow-up to a 2013 survey done by the UNDRR (then called UNISDR), to ascertain the needs of persons with disabilities and disasters. Those survey results are still cited in the UNISDR 2013 Survey on Living with Disabilities and Disasters – Key Findings. In this new survey, UNDRR is again inviting persons with disability and other members of society to express their concerns, needs and recommendations. The background to the survey is the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. It is the main international agreement aimed at reducing risk and harm from disasters and it mentions persons with disability as key stakeholders.

The purpose of the survey is to review whether the one billion persons with disability and living with disaster risk today are more involved in planning and decision-making processes to reduce risk or build resilience than we were in 2015, when the Sendai Framework was adopted. The findings from this survey will be used to influence the remaining 7 years of the Sendai Framework’s implementation until 2030. In particular, it will help to inform a Mid-Term Review which is being done by countries, regional organizations, and the United Nations.

The Mid-Term Review will conclude in May 2023 at a high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. Its outcome will be important for future implementation of the Sendai Framework and how much priority is given to the needs and rights of persons with disability. It will also feed into other United Nations meetings and summits on sustainable development and climate change.

 

HR & Opportunities – Job Openings

Low Vision Associate – Little Rock

Education and work experience:

• Bachelors degree in Human Service field and/or a minimum of 2 years related experience.

External candidates may apply at
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=56749&clientkey=8B43E6E34C5D5C9AA3D07BB04DBEB909

Internal candidates may apply at
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=56750&clientkey=8B43E6E34C5D5C9AA3D07BB04DBEB909&jpt=ce8685cef740a6280b5fcb492b556fa5

 

Customer Service Representative – NC Department of Vital Statistics

External candidates may apply at
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=56781&clientkey=8B43E6E34C5D5C9AA3D07BB04DBEB909

Internal candidates may apply at
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=56782&clientkey=8B43E6E34C5D5C9AA3D07BB04DBEB909&jpt=ce8685cef740a6280b5fcb492b556fa5

NC Department of Vital Statistics – Call Center Supervisor

External candidates may apply at
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=56788&clientkey=8B43E6E34C5D5C9AA3D07BB04DBEB909

Internal candidates may apply at
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=56789&clientkey=8B43E6E34C5D5C9AA3D07BB04DBEB909&jpt=ce8685cef740a6280b5fcb492b556fa5

For information about any employment opportunities with IFB Solutions please contact Brent Burkholder at bburkholder@ifbsolutions.org or 336-245-5611.

 

Zoom Meeting Links

Adult Support Groups Zoom

https://ifbsolutions.zoom.us/j/99498078576?pwd=ODJzK0sxcXZrME9yN25YRTdiNXBSQT09
Meeting ID: 994 9807 8576
PASSWORD: 92638
One tap mobile
+13017158592,99498078576# US (Germantown)

13126266799,99498078576# US
+(Chicago)

Dial by your location.
877 853 5257 US Toll-free
888 475 4499 US Toll-free
Meeting ID: 994 9807 8576

 

Assistive Technology Support Group Zoom

https://ifbsolutions.zoom.us/j/94434630872?pwd=aXFYSHYyWkh1SE1tWDNOdDIwVURwUT09

Meeting ID: 944 3463 0872
Passcode: 924496

+13017158592, 99434630872, #, # US (Germantown)

+13126266799, 99434630872, #, # US (Chicago)