Fall ’21 – November IFB Solutions Impact Newsletter

 

In This Edition:

Anytime We Have a Chance to Help Others, We Should Do It

Your Gifts Make a Huge Difference! – Rob Burgess, Chief Financial Officer

Your Generosity at Work!

Why I Give: Kerry Collins, MD and Barrett Norton, RN

Words of Thanks and Gratitude from our IFB Solutions Donors

View a PDF of the Print Version

 

Anytime We Have a Chance to Help Others, We Should Do It

Giving comes as naturally as breathing to Eneida Pacheco. Whether it’s bringing food to fellow employees at work, picking up trash or sharing her beloved doves with the community, giving to others makes her feel comfortable. “It’s simply the right thing to do, and I am happy to help others in my condition,” she said.

Eneida was riding in the back of a pickup truck in her native country Panama when an accident happened. At only 10 years old, she spent 22 days in the ICU, and had to learn to walk again. In 1982, she had surgery in Atlanta, where she learned the accident caused significant cornea damage.

A decade later she and her husband moved to Highlands, NC to share a good life together. When her husband was diagnosed with stomach cancer, she stayed by his side for four years until he passed. She was lost and didn’t know how she could support herself, until a friend told her about IFB Solutions.

“I called IFB the next day. They invited me to come interview and hired me on the spot! IFB is a gift and a blessing,” she said.

 

 

Today, she works in the Asheville manufacturing facility. Starting as a sewing machine operator in 2015 on the poncho liner made for the U.S. military, she now works in different departments, including staples and bar coding.

Eneida gives back in many ways. She is close friends with an employee who is visually impaired and deaf. Eneida taught herself sign language so they could communicate. She also interprets for her supervisor and at employee meetings.

Eneida raises white doves as a hobby and helps others through that hobby. She releases her doves at weddings, memorial services, and other special events as a community service, and they fly back to her home.

She also donates financially to IFB through the employee giving program. “I donate because I want to help others who are visually impaired or blind. If I donate $2 per week it may not have a huge impact, but if everyone can do it, then it helps a lot,” she said. “I think anytime we have a chance to help someone, we need to do it.”

Click here to watch Eneida’s story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Gifts Make a Huge Difference! – Rob Burgess, Chief Financial Officer

I remember sitting in church one Sunday morning when it hit me – IFB Solutions is where I am meant to be! Four years ago, I decided it was time for a career change.

I liked my job at a big pharma company and at a CPA firm, but I wanted to apply my skills toward something greater. When I found out about IFB Solutions, I immediately applied for the job. I was in church shortly after my interview when the minister talked about how important it was to make a difference. I whispered to my wife that this job was my way of making a difference. We signed up as annual donors shortly after I got the job. Knowing that we’re helping IFB create jobs for people who are blind is personal, because I see my dollars in action every day.

An employee I met at IFB helped me realize how each gift builds life changing opportunities. This employee shared he had lived in his basement for 15 years because he couldn’t get to work. For people who are visually impaired, transportation is a huge barrier. Donations allow us to subsidize transportation, so the man could interview and get hired. When he learned that IFB would transport him, it was a game changer. Now he has a job and a sense of purpose!

As CFO, I’m charged with how to best use the revenues and donations IFB receives. Donation goals are a part of the operating budget, a critical part of the financial planning process, and an essential component to achieve our mission.

Donors can give to programs such as afterschool, children’s camps, low vision services, transportation, subsidies for employee meals, job conversions, upward mobility, and our on-site medical clinics. During the COVID pandemic, some donated funds supported our People First Fund. More than 600 employees have received assistance from this fund.

Some donors want to make a lasting, intentional gift as part of their estate plans. Our development team can work with you, so your gift has an impact for years to come.

If you are an existing donor, thank you for your support. If you have just been introduced to IFB, I hope you are as touched by our mission as I am and will consider making a gift today. You can truly change lives!

 

 

Your Generosity at Work!

(Statistics for FY21)

• 137 children were served through our S.E.E. afterschool program and summer camps building friendships and learning skills.
• 140 employees used IFB’s affordable and reliable transportation to and from work.
• 610 employees received pandemic assistance through our People First Fund.
• 2,000+ customers were helped through our Community Low Vision Centers in Winston Salem, Asheville, and Little Rock.
• 300+ employees received one-on-one job skills training from our expert training staff.
• 100,000+ affordable meals served through our cafeteria programs providing critical food security.

 

Why I Give: Kerry Collins, MD and Barrett Norton, RN

Finding an organization that offers free medical care onsite is a rarity these days, but not at IFB Solutions. For more than a decade, the company has provided employees with basic healthcare through on-site clinics. They give access to an occupational medicine physician a few days each week and on-site nurses working either full time or part time depending on location. It’s one more way to embrace the mission.

Dr. Kerry Collins, an emergency and occupational medicine physician who provided healthcare for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and other companies, was a catalyst for this valuable perk. Colleagues at Reynolds introduced him to IFB and he joined the Board of Directors in 2004. He appreciated the IFB employee work ethic, and the way management went above and beyond for employees.

“In 2010, Annette Clinard, IFB’s HR director at the time, David Horton and I ramped up our conversation about the need for on-site healthcare. I started coming in three half-days a week,” said Dr. Collins. “It’s a pleasure to help our employees, and it gives me a great perspective on life.”
There are four members of the IFB medical team. Dr. Collins provides overall oversight. Venessa Griffin, RN, supports employees in the Winston-Salem facility. Barbara Davis, RN, supports employees in Asheville. Barrett Norton, RN, supports those in Little Rock. Dr. Collins consults with them all to provide vaccines, monitor high blood pressure, treat injuries or provide referrals. He also provides primary care for employees, a service that helps with medical cost savings for the organization and employees.

 

 

 

A former ICU and ER nurse, Barrett Norton always wanted to support a nonprofit organization. Initially, she joined the Little Rock Advisory Board, but when COVID started, she felt her place was as a nurse helping employees. She works part time to monitor employees’ blood sugar, high blood pressure, help set up transportation, help with diet, exercise, and wound care.
“It’s important for our people to have someone to talk with about medical problems. It’s cut down on them seeing a doctor, saving them transportation and medication costs. We also help with medical planning,” said Barrett.

Both healthcare professionals are also donors. “I give because of these sweet, wonderful people I love so much. I’m especially excited about our Little Rock walking track which will be built as soon as the funds are raised. It’s a great way to start exercising, and it’s outdoors,” said Barrett. Visit ifbsolutions.org/track to help us build this walking track.
“The nature and mission of IFB is so important. I know how much our employees want to work, and it helps them be independent,” said Dr. Collins. “That’s why I’m also a donor.”

 

 

 

Words of Thanks and Gratitude from our IFB Solutions Donors

 

 

It’s amazing to see the abundance of stories demonstrating how people’s lives change because of the work IFB does. I am honored to be a donor.

Brenda Diggs
IFB Solutions Chair of the Board

 

 

 

 

I am thankful that Bingo for Bags fundraiser became such a fun event the community looks forward to every year. It’s inspiring to know that it impacts many lives of people who are blind in Arkansas. I am blessed to be a part of IFB Solutions mission!

Judy Phillips
Advisory Council Member & Bingo for Bags Chair, Little Rock

 

 

 

 

IFB offers jobs for people who are blind so we can be independent. I’m thankful for IFB Solutions and that IFB has faith in us so we can do what we do with pride.

Lee Hartline
Sewing Machine Operator, Winston-Salem

 

 

 

I’m thankful for the help IFB brings to people who are blind in all walks of life. IFB Solutions has been there for me and others like me. If you are blind and in need of a job or other help, IFB Solutions is here for you.

Kay Williams
EWOL Machine Operator, Little Rock

 

 

 

My life has changed since I started working here. I enjoy the fellowship with my coworkers and feel thankful I can support my family financially.

Franklin Clark
Impulse Merchandising Program, Asheville

 

 

 

 

 

Hayes and I are thankful that IFB provides Hayes the opportunity to attend the S.E.E. Charlotte program. She has made lifelong friends and learned many life skills.

Jennifer Hanvey
S.E.E. Program Parent