Author: hayley

Asheville area relief resources after Hurricane Helene

Posted on by hayley

Updated Tuesday, Oct. 8 — Asheville area employees, families and friends: We are here for you. Below, we’ve compiled a list of local resources that may be helpful for you in the coming days or weeks as we recover from this catastrophic event. Learn more at ncdps.gov.

For radio updates via Blue Ridge Public Radio, tune to:
Asheville: 88.1
Black Mountain: 107.5
Brevard: 101.5Asheville Area relief resources following Hurricane Helene
Bryson City: 94.7
Cullowhee: 89.7
Franklin: 91.3
Hendersonville: 99.3
Highlands: 103.3
Murphy: 88.5
Sylva/Dillsboro: 91.5
Tryon: 101.5
Waynesville-Clyde: 89.7
Waynesville-Hazelwood: 102.9

Grocery stores:
Trader Joe’s: 120 Merrimon Ave., Asheville
Ingles (cash): 575 New Leicester Highway, Asheville
Ingles (cash): 863 Brevard Road, Asheville
Walmart: 1636 Hendersonville Road, Asheville
Food Lion: 179 Paragon Parkway, Clyde
Ingles: 625 Spartanburg Highway, Hendersonville
Walmart: 2875 Sugar Hill Road, Marion
Walmart: 177 Forest Gate Drive, Pisgah Forest
Publix: 165 Weaver Blvd., Weaverville

Food and water distribution:
Pack Square Park: 70 Court Plaza, Asheville
Asheville Middle School: 211 S. French Broad Ave., Asheville
Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center: 121 Shiloh Road, Asheville
Lucy Herring Elementary: 98 Sulphur Springs Road, Asheville
Oakley Elementary School: 753 Fairview Road, Asheville
William W. Estes Elementary School: 275 Overlook Road, Asheville
Sand Hill Elementary: 154 Sand Hill School Road, Asheville (enter via Acton Circle)
North Windy Ridge Intermediate School: 20 Doan Road, Weaverville
Fairview Elementary School: 1355 Charlotte Highway, Fairview
MANNA FoodBank: 570 Brevard Road. Food and water distribution at the farmers market.
BeLoved Asheville: 32 Old Charlotte Highway. Providing water, food, diapers and baby formula.
Carolina Day School: 1345 Hendersonville Road. Water distribution from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
First Baptist Church in Weaverville: 63 North Main St. Free meals start at 1 p.m. and continue while supplies last.
Locations below were compiled Thursday, Oct. 3 and may not still be accurate:
Bears Smokehouse (12 p.m.): 135 Cox Ave., Asheville
Twisted Laurel (12 p.m.): 130 College St., Asheville
Fresh Market (6 p.m.): 1378 Hendersonville Road, Asheville
Monte Vista Hotel (food and Wi-Fi): 310 W State St., Black Mountain
Henderson County: Etowah Elementary School, Rugby Middle School, East Henderson High School, North Henderson High School, Mills River Town Hall, and Fletcher Town Hall Water
Lowe’s: 95 Smokey Park Highway, Asheville
Home Depot: 795 Fairview Road, Asheville
Home Depot: 127 Acton Circle, Asheville
Publix: 165 Weaver Blvd., Asheville
AB Tech: 340 Victoria Road, Asheville Fresh Market (6 pm): 1378 Hendersonville Road, Asheville
Ingles Markets: 550 Highway 9, Black Mountain
Pisgah Brewing Company (2-5 p.m., bring container): 2849 US 70, Black Mountain

Non-potable water (grey water) for flushing toilets:
William W. Estes Elementary: 275 Overlook Road, Asheville
Sand Hill Elementary: 154 Sand Hill School Road, Asheville (Enter via Acton Circle)
North Windy Ridge Intermediate: 20 Doan Road, Weaverville
Fairview Elementary: 1355 Charlotte Highway, Fairview
Black Mountain Ingles: 550 NC-9, Black Mountain
Cane Creek Middle: 570 Lower Brush Creek Road, Fletcher
Leicester Elementary: 31 Gilbert Road, Leicester
Pack Square Park: 70 Court Plaza, Asheville
Asheville Middle: 211 S. French Broad Ave., Asheville
Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center: 121 Shiloh Road, Asheville
Lucy Herring Elementary: 98 Sulphur Springs Road, Asheville
Oakley Elementary: 753 Fairview Road, Asheville

Showers:
Asheville YMCA: 30 Woodfin St., Asheville, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
Corpening Memorial YMCA: 348 Grace Corpening Drive, Marion, 2-6 p.m. daily
Reuter Family YMCA: 3 Town Square Blvd., Asheville, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

Wi-Fi:
Citizen Vinyl: 14 O. Henry Ave., Asheville
DoubleTree Hilton Downtown: 199 Haywood St., Asheville
Asheville Shelter, Ferguson Building: 340 Victoria Road, Asheville
WNC Agricultural Center: 1301 Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher
Buncombe County Health Department: 40 Coxe Ave., Weaverville

Pharmacies:
CVS: 505 Smokey Park Highway, Asheville
CVS: 324 Long Shoals Road, Asheville
Pinnacle Apothecary: 1388 Sand Hill Road, Suite 100, Candler
PSA Pharmacy: 2294 US Highway 70, Swannanoa
Publix Pharmacy: 1830 Hendersonville Road, Asheville
Public Pharmacy: 165 Weaver Blvd., Weaverville
Walgreens: 841 Merrimon Ave., Asheville
Walgreens: 2501 Hendersonville Road, Arden
Walgreens: 1835 Hendersonville Road, Asheville

IFB Solutions hires Alina Garcia Ravelo to lead Asheville manufacturing facility

Posted on by hayley

 

ASHEVILLE, NC (Aug. 8, 2024) – IFB Solutions, the largest employer of people who are blind or visually impaired in the country, has hired Alina Garcia Ravelo to oversee its Asheville operations as the nonprofit’s plant manager. The Asheville manufacturing facility, located on Sardis Road, is one of three manufacturing facilities operated by IFB Solutions, a nonprofit headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C.

In her new role, Ravelo will lead IFB’s Asheville manufacturing team and oversee all facility operations. Ravelo, who is legally blind due to a condition called cone dystrophy, was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. In 2013, after graduating with honors from Technological University José Antonio Echeverría with a degree in industrial engineering, she emigrated to the United States, working as an industrial engineer for Georgia Industry for the Blind by day and earning a master’s degree in engineering from Florida International University at night. In 2019, she was hired at IFB Solutions’ Winston-Salem facility as the location’s production supervisor, but she left one year later due to the challenging hours-long commute from her home in Western North Carolina. Prior to rejoining the IFB team, Ravelo worked at Eaton Corporation in Arden as a senior manufacturing engineer on one of the facility’s product lines.

Ravelo gives a tour of the Asheville manufacturing facility
Ravelo, who joined IFB as plant manager in June 2024, gives a tour of the Asheville manufacturing facility. Legally blind and sensitive to bright lights, Ravelo often wears dark sunglasses indoors.

“I’m excited to be back at IFB, because, at the end of each day, I go home feeling like I made a difference,” Ravelo said. “Being legally blind myself, I feel like my employees can relate to me and I can relate to them. I understand what they are going through, because I’ve been through the same. You have to work twice as hard to reach your goals, so every accomplishment means so much more. Any time I’m able to help someone succeed, it’s a celebration — and it’s the best feeling of my professional life.”

IFB’s Asheville plant employs more than 120 people, about half of whom are blind or visually impaired, to manufacture products such as uniforms, field equipment and office products for the U.S. government and military. The Asheville facility operates product lines that support Military Resale and the Impulse Merchandising Program for the Defense Commissary Agency. Employees who are blind assemble and package more than 400 different products, which are then shipped and sold at military installations and commissaries around the world. Asheville employees also manufacture poncho liners for the U.S. military — affectionately known as the woobie — and also sells military-grade woobies to the public through its online Pinnacle Mercantile store.

In addition to its manufacturing facilities, IFB operates Base Supply Center retail stores in government locations and military bases. IFB also offers a growing number of work-from-home positions for blind or visually impaired individuals across the country.

Ravelo is the first person who is blind to take on the plant manager role at IFB.

“By having me as their plant manager — and by having a president and CEO who is blind, a director of supply chain who is blind, and others — everyone can see that there is no limit to what they can achieve,” Ravelo said. “If you want to do something, you can go for it. We are here to prove that is true.”

Asheville plant manager Alina Garcia Ravelo
Asheville plant manager Alina Garcia Ravelo

IFB Solutions to Hire 60 New Employees and Offer Specialized Training Thanks to City of Winston-Salem ARPA Grant

Posted on by hayley

Winston-Salem nonprofit IFB Solutions, the largest U.S. employer of people who are blind, plans to hire 60 new employees in the coming months. The majority of the new positions will be part of a textile manufacturing line producing cold weather gear and other specialty garments for the U.S. military. Like other IFB operations, the new manufacturing line will include positions for people who are blind as well as those who are sighted.

Mayor Allen Joines at IFB Solutions' Winston-Salem manufacturing facility.
Mayor Allen Joines tours IFB Solutions’ Winston-Salem manufacturing facility, which is set to expand production this fiscal year.

Because of the highly technical nature of the line’s sewing operations, IFB is expanding its textile training team and offering specialized training for employees. Funding for the enhanced training program was made possible by an ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) grant from the City of Winston-Salem.

“When you provide training to an employee who has just secured his or her first job, you are setting them on a path to independence not just at work, but in life,” said Dan Kelly, IFB Solutions CEO. “For 38 percent of our employees who are blind, IFB Solutions is their very first job so it’s incumbent on us to give them the training and support they need to be successful. We’re incredibly grateful to the City of Winston-Salem for awarding us this critical grant to expand our employee training as we grow our organization.”

IFB’s mission is to provide life-changing opportunities for people who are blind through employment, training and services. Every IFB employee receives “wrap-around” services including job training, on-site medical care, transportation to and from work, a subsidized on-site canteen serving breakfast and lunch, and access to low-vision services at the Ronald G. Sherrill Community Low Vision Center on the IFB campus. Currently, IFB employs more than 450 people at its Winston-Salem facility.

“Nationally, we know that 70 percent of working-age adults who are blind are not employed, and finding an open position is just one facet of that statistic,” said Kelly. “Having access to reliable transportation to and from work is key as are on-site services like food and medical. We’re fortunate to have a supportive city and donor community whose generosity makes it possible for us to support our employees, blind and sighted, in these ways.”

IFB Solutions has already begun posting open positions on the Career Portal of its website, www.ifbsolutions.com. In addition to manufacturing positions, IFB also offers remote work opportunities and positions with its Base Supply Center division.