FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Anastasia Powell
apowell@ifbsolutions.org, M 336-456-9824

IFB SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCES MAJOR DONATION TO EXPAND ACCESS TO ITS COMMUNITY LOW VISION CENTER SERVICES

Donation will expand financial assistance program, enable more people to access services

WINSTON-SALEM, NC (April 27, 2021) – Nonprofit IFB Solutions, the largest employer of people who are blind in the U.S., is expanding its financial assistance program for the IFB Community Low Vision Center (CLVC) in Winston-Salem thanks to a significant private donation made possible by the friends and family of the late Ronnie Sherrill, former Chairman and CEO of Charlotte-based SteelFab. The new initiative focuses primarily on assisting adults who receive services through the CLVC including the purchase of easy-to-use technology and household devices from talking watches to magnifiers. The program complements IFB’s existing Focus on Literacy program which loans school-age children assistive technology free of charge for home use.

“Coming to the CLVC is a life-changing experience for many people and this donation ensures that everyone will have access to our extensive services regardless of their ability to pay,” said Shonn Redmond, IFB Low Vision Services & Technical Support Coordinator. Redmond is low vision and personally tests out every device before it’s added to the CLVC. “Our goal is to equip people with the technology and devices that allow them to maintain important and independent life activities from reading and paying bills to cooking and working on the computer.”

The facility, which is being renamed the Ronald G. Sherrill Community Low Vision Center, is located on the IFB Solutions campus off Silas Creek Parkway and is open to the public although appointments are encouraged. Redmond or another CLVC associate work with each person to understand their challenges and needs and identify the best tools. Members of the Sherrill family along with lifelong friends collaborated with IFB on the philanthropic effort to have a direct and immediate impact on people who are low vision.

“My father would have been very moved by the inspiring work happening at IFB Solutions each and every day,” said Glenn Sherrill who took over for his father as CEO of SteelFab. ““My Dad lost sight in his right eye when he was in his early 50s yet kept a very positive outlook – the same spirit that was exemplified here at IFB Solutions. Dad was very generous, and I know he would be pleased that his donation will benefit so many people in need of these type of services.”

Ed Rose, CEO of Shelco and one of Ronnie Sherrill’s closest friends, was instrumental in connecting the Sherrills to IFB. Several years ago, he, Ronnie and Ronnie’s brother Don Sherrill underwrote the cost of a van to transport children who participate in IFB’s S.E.E. program in Charlotte. Ronnie’s wife Paulette, who came to know of IFB’s work through her family and Rose, made the lead gift to the new financial assistance initiative.

“It’s a tremendous honor to join with Paulette and the entire Sherrill family in making this donation to the Community Low Vision Center. Together, we’re supporting a very worthwhile organization and at the same time honoring one of my very best friends in life. I want to thank IFB for doing what it does to help those in our community who are blind or low vision and I want to thank the Sherrill family for letting us honor Ronnie in this way.”

IFB also operates Community Low Vision Centers on its campuses in Asheville, North Carolina and Little Rock, Arkansas. To learn more about the Centers, visit www.communitylowvision.org.

ABOUT IFB SOLUTIONS
IFB Solutions is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1936 as Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind, and it provides employment, training and services for people who are blind or visually impaired. As the largest employer of people who are blind in the United States, IFB operates manufacturing facilities in Winston-Salem, N.C., Asheville, N.C., and Little Rock, Ark., in addition to operating nearly 20 office supply stores across the country and producing mattresses. IFB produces eyewear under its Twenty200 brand at its Winston-Salem lab. IFB Solutions funds employee training and services as well as community programs through grants and private donations, making possible summer camps, afterschool programs and activities for children who are blind, and Community Low Vision services through its low-vision Centers across North Carolina and in Little Rock, Ark. ifbsolutions.org

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