NIB Connection

Thanks to today’s digital revolution, there is no shortage of new technologies available for people with visual or hearing impairments. But for the estimated 7 million people in the world who have both visual and hearing impairments (according to World Health Organization data), assistive technology options are few and far between. When I learned of […]

According to VisionServe Alliance, a forum of U.S. and Canadian organizations working to build a better world for people with vision loss, at least 12 million people in the U.S. age 60 and older report significant difficulty seeing. In addition, at least half of Americans aged 65 and older are at high risk of developing […]

In 1938, the United States was nearly a decade into the Great Depression. The unemployment rate was up, and production rates were down. The world had a very limited idea of what people who were blind could do, making employment even harder to obtain. However, there was hope on the horizon. President Franklin D. Roosevelt […]

In 1967, the General Services Administration (GSA) had a problem. The standard-issue U.S. government pen had been redesigned to stringent new specifications, which the private company making the pen couldn’t meet. Instead, they delivered 13 million defective pens to GSA. Looking for a new supplier, GSA Commissioner Heinz Abersfeller asked National Industries for the Blind […]

Sunday, June 25, marks the 85th anniversary of the Wagner-O’Day Act, the legislation that led to the creation of National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and ultimately, the AbilityOne® Program. The act, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, directed government agencies to give priority to suppliers employing people who are blind […]

As the labor market remains strong, employers looking to retain valued employees are renewing efforts to provide workplace accommodations. A recent study from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) offers good news – a majority of workplace accommodations cost less than $500 to implement, with nearly half having no cost at all. From January 1, 2019, […]

On May 8, Jeff Mittman, president and CEO of NIB associated nonprofit agency Bosma Enterprises and president of the National Association for the Employment of People Who Are Blind (NAEPB), spoke with FOX 5 DC, the network affiliate in Washington, D.C., to discuss NIB’s recent Advocacy Day and some of the challenges people who are […]

Davina A. De BrauxNewView Oklahoma As lead contract closeout specialist for NewView Oklahoma, Davina De Braux ensures the accuracy and completeness of work and facilitates coordination with customers and government. A member of the Virginia State Bar, Davina received her law degree from Iowa University, a Master of Laws degree in taxation and a certificate […]

For NIB associated nonprofit agency Bestwork Industries for the Blind, 2023 is full of promise. Bestwork is diversifying from a successful textile manufacturing facility making uniform apparel for the U.S. military into a multi-faceted operation pursuing new lines of business and initiating rehabilitation services.  Founded in 1981 by WWII veteran Jim Varsaci, who lost his […]

On March 9, 2020, Orcam, the Israeli assistive hardware maker that developed the powerful wearable Orcam MyEye, announced the release of Orcam Read, a hand-held alternative for scanning and reading text from nearly any surface.  Launching Orcam Read seven days before the U.S. went into lockdown for COVID-19 was unfortunate, but the reading pen is […]