One of the best aspects of my job leading the human resources team at IFB Solutions here in Winston-Salem is the privilege of witnessing the transformative power of a job for a person with disabilities. I see their pride in being able to live independently, of having financial freedom and of being part of a supportive work community. Having come from an HR role at a traditional, for-profit manufacturing organization, I appreciate the unique opportunity our team has to change a life when we tell someone, “You’re hired!”

Seven of every 10 working-age adults who are blind or visually impaired are unemployed. That sobering statistic is an everyday reality for too many people, and a daunting prospect for those who are blind.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, an important time for our organization, IFB Solutions, to heighten awareness in the community about the employment challenges for people who are blind. Ironically, many of these challenges are because those of us who are sighted don’t see the abilities and potential in those without vision.

As the largest employer of people who are blind in the country with more than 400 individuals working in Winston-Salem and in other locations, IFB Solutions employees demonstrate each day that there are no limits, no barriers to what individuals who are blind can achieve in the workforce. The only barriers are the ones those of us who are sighted create by our own mis-perceptions and biases.

By now, Luxexcel is pretty well synonymous with 3D printed optics – it’s said to be the only company in the world that has the ability to 3D print ophthalmic lenses without having to polish or grind them. The company, with offices in Belgium and the Netherlands, launched its online 3D printing service in 2015, and has worked with trinckle 3D to bring mass customization to 3D printed optics. In September, Luxexcel began working on a quality control program for its technology, and this spring, less than a decade after 3D printing the first pair of functional eyeglasses, prepared to start shipping its 3D printing platform.

This week, Luxexcel and nonprofit corporation IFB Solutions, which provides training, employment, and services for the blind and visually impaired, signed a contract for the first 3D printing platform for ophthalmic lenses. The platform will allow customers, like IFB Solutions, to manufacture 3D printed, quality ophthalmic lenses that meet industry standards.

“In IFB Solutions we found a partner that is keen to adopt this unique technology and develop the market for the unique products possible with 3D printing. It is our intention to overcome today’s challenges in the ophthalmic world by making lenses outside the mainstream, enabling eye glasses with new capabilities compared to the existing product offerings,” said Guido Groet, the Chief Commercial Officer of Luxexcel. “The Luxexcel Vision Platform represents the next level of lens manufacturing solutions for ophthalmic labs and provides an opportunity to differentiate and develop unique ophthalmic products.”

Industrial-grade optical 3D printers, workflow integration tools, and lens-design software make up the Luxexcel platform – combining consumables, hardware, and software into one 3D printing solution. For a click fee payment, ophthalmic labs get the entire platform, which includes resins and support. The platform can be integrated right into a proven ophthalmic lab workflow – lenses that are produced with the company’s 3D printing solution are now ISO compliant, and also compatible with current industry coatings and customary processes, such as frame mounting and edging.

Initially, IFB Solutions, which is the largest employer of individuals in the US who are blind or visually impaired, will use Luxexcel’s technology to focus on medical specialty lenses that are historically difficult to manufacture.

“The specialty lenses that we will produce with the Luxexcel technology are often needed for patients with low vision, which is a specific area of expertise at IFB Solutions. Not only do we employ many individuals with low vision but we also provide low vision services through our Community Low Vision Centers in North Carolina and Arkansas,” said Dan Kelly, Chief Operating Officer for IFB Solutions.

IFB Solutions operates the optical lab, and a large-scale manufacturing facility, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, along with another facility in Asheville and one in Arkansas. The Luxexcel platform will be integrated into the organization’s optical operations in Winston-Salem, which is one of the country’s top ten independent labs.

Luxexcel’s 3D printing technology is easy for lab technicians to use, and IFB, which employs blind and visually impaired people for over 75% of its optical lab workforce, plans to have these individuals operate the 3D printing machinery.

“We recognize that 3D printing is the future of the optical industry, and we want to be early innovators and adopters of this emerging technology,” said Kelly. “With the Luxexcel platform, we can now deliver specialty lenses to our customers in a matter of days, and that’s a huge advantage for our organization that is known for exceptional service and quality.”

The Luxexcel 3D printing platform for for ophthalmic lenses will be delivered to IFB Solutions in Winston-Salem on a pay-per-use model. Discuss in the Luxexcel forum at 3DPB.com.

[Source: https://3dprint.com/186791/ifb-solutions-luxexcel-contract/]

IFB Solutions marked the 10^th anniversary of its Student Enrichment Experience (SEE) program for school-age children who are blind or visually impaired by launching a new summer camp – Camp H₂O on the shores of Lake Norman in North Carolina.  Camp H₂O, held July 9-15, joins IFB’s other summer camp offerings – Adventure Camp at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in western North Carolina, and Summer Day Camps held in Winston-Salem and Asheville.

All SEE camp programs are designed to provide children who are blind or visually impaired the same summer camp experiences available to their sighted peers. Participants in Camp H₂O spent one week at the North Carolina Lions Camp Dogwood located on Lake Norman.  They learned basic swimming and water safety rules as well as spent time kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, water skiing and wakeboarding.

Like IFB’s other SEE programs, all campers attended Camp H₂O completely free of charge.  In support of IFB’s mission to provide opportunities for people who are blind or visually impaired in need of employment, training and services, IFB’s A Brighter Path Programs cover the cost of the camps so children can attend for free.  A Brighter Path and IFB’s supporting IFB Solutions Foundation secure community support throughout the year to also help underwrite camp expenses.

“Camp H₂0 is a special experience for these children because it gives them the opportunity and the encouragement to try things that perhaps others thought they were not capable of, like kayaking on their own,” said Anastasia Powell, Program Coordinator for A Brighter Path Programs.  “We want our campers to experience summer camp on the same level of their sighted peers.  Maybe in the past, these children have sat on the sidelines because they are blind or visually impaired, but here they are right in the action and having the time of their lives.”

For more information, visit www.abrighterpathprograms.org

On July 13, representatives from Bank of America’s Charitable Foundation (Greg Cox, Micah Wolfington and Angie Turner) presented IFB Solutions with a grant for workforce development. The funds will be used for job training and placement for the blind and visually impaired at IFB. Our organization currently invests hundreds of thousands of dollars in training its workforce, and we are thankful that Bank of America selected us to receive this grant to continue expanding our training programs.

IFB Solutions was recognized on Friday, June 23^rd, for its outstanding commitment to safety in the workplace. The NCDOL Safety Awards luncheon was held at the Cross Creek Country Club in Mt. Airy, NC, where IFB received the Gold Safety Award for the 7^th consecutive year. IFB also received a plaque recognizing One Million hours without a lost time accident from Nov. 20^th, 2015, to Dec. 31^st, 2016.

IFB Solutions employees (from left to right) Greg Whybrew, Clayton Sanders, Angela Jordan and Jean Smith, accept an award from NC Commissioner of Labor Cherie Berry.

IFB Solutions sponsored the Randleman Lake Top Shelf Fishing Festival presented by Operation North State on June 13, 2017. More than 60 veterans attended the 3rd annual festival, five of whom are IFB Solutions employees. The Randleman Lake Fishing Festival is just one of eight fishing festivals that Operation North State hosts each year for wounded warriors and disabled veterans. There is no charge for the participants, and all the boaters volunteer their time to give veterans a day of fun and relaxation. The fishing festival was followed by dinner at Reverie Place, where Richard Petty mingled and posed for pictures with all of the veterans.