Phoenix, Ariz.– House of Representatives Greg Stanton, D-9) toured the Arizona Industries for the Blind (AIB Distribution Center in Phoenix, AZ., and heard personal stories from AIB employees who are blind achieving their version of the American Dream on Wednesday August 17, 2022.
As an AbilityOne Champion Congressman Stanton demonstrates support for the AbilityOne Program associated nonprofit agencies employing persons with disabilities across the United State through congressional actions.
Providing employment opportunities to nearly 45,000 people, the AbilityOne Program is the largest single source of employment for people who are blind or have significant disabilities in the United States.
“The progress that the AbilityOne program has made in advancing persons with disabilities here at home
in Arizona and America’s workforce at large is extraordinary and at the heart of what so many of us are
trying to emulate across the country,” said Stanton.
Under the AbilityOne umbrella, AIB employees work on federal contracts such as military supply chain
management services for the U.S. Department of Defense and the operation of Base Supply Centers located at each of Arizona’s three military bases.
“I am proud to support federal programs like AbilityOne. It offers people the opportunity to develop new skills, advance their professional careers, become financially independent and be productive members of the community,” said Stanton.
“Congressman Stanton has been a supporter of employment and training programs throughout his career in public service and is an enthusiastic supporter of Arizona Industries for the Blind,” said Chris LaFollette, AIB CEO.
AIB is one of more than one hundred nonprofit agencies associated with National Industries for the Blind (NIB), the nation’s largest employment resource for people who are blind. NIB and its associated agencies employ nearly 6,000 people who are blind across the country, including veterans who are blind.
As an AbilityOne Champion, Stanton joins the ranks of the more than 150 current congressional representatives who have publicly shared their support of the AbilityOne Program to help people who are blind or have significant disabilities find employment by working within a national network of over 600 nonprofit agencies that sell products and services to the federal government. More than 45,000 individuals are employed through the AbilityOne Program and its network of nonprofit agencies like AIB.
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Learn more about the U.S. AbilityOne Commission.
About Arizona Industries for the Blind
Arizona Industries for the Blind (515 N. 51St Ave., Phoenix, AZ), an associated agency of National Industries for the Blind, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating employment opportunities for people who are blind. It’s employees, more than half of whom are blind, deliver a variety of products and services, including a full-service Warehousing and Distribution Center, confidential Digital Data Scan (DDS) services for private businesses and government and the operation of Base Supply Centers located at each of Arizona’s three military bases under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Labor’s AbilityOne program.