On the Links for the Lighthouse

Interstate 40 serves as a direct line between Winston-Salem, NC, Asheville, NC and Little Rock, AR, connecting the three primary facilities of Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind. While a road may align them physically, the shared mission of providing employment, training and services to people who are blind or visually impaired is a much stronger connection. This mission drives the day-to-day operations and delivers empowerment to all who desire a more independent lifestyle.

Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind began as the dream of blind Methodist minister Rev. Jeff Smith. In 1940, with the help of a few friends and a $100 donation, a small workshop was established behind the Arkansas School for the Blind. Through Rev. Smith’s vision, a shop was opened on the east side of Little Rock with an expansion in services to blind citizens through employment. Helen Keller dedicated this Ninth Street workshop on a trip to Little Rock in 1945. On June 6, 1965 a groundbreaking for a new plant began a campaign that resulted in more than 50,000 contributions from Arkansans. It took 16 months to raise money to complete the building at 69and Murray Streets which was dedicated in March of 1966. This building remains the location of the Lighthouse in Little Rock, Arkansas. In the 60s Arkansas Lighthouse began manufacturing products for the United States government.  Detonators made at the plant were shipped to Vietnam in 1966.  Then in 1976 the Lighthouse began making notebooks and military belts.  As a part of National Industries for the Blind (NIB), the Lighthouse continues to acknowledge Department of Defense contracts as the backbone of its client base.

About the same time, just under 800 short miles away in northwest Winston-Salem, North Carolina began a thriving enterprise focused on employment, training and services for people who are blind or visually impaired. Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind started in 1936 as a two-room shop in downtown Winston-Salem, with only six blind workers, in an effort to provide employment opportunities to persons who were blind or visually impaired. The Lions Club opened this small operation on Fifth Street with the intention of having a modest but immediate impact on the community. Little could they know what an extraordinary story they were beginning. As these first workers came together to manufacture mattresses, brooms, and caned chairs—grateful for real jobs at a time when visual impairment almost assured unemployment—they had no idea they were forging the way for an organization destined to improve the lives of hundreds of individuals and families across North Carolina.

Along with Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind and Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind stands Asheville Industries for the Blind. In 1991, Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind management was looking for new products to diversity and to create employment in the western Carolina region. The Asheville facility was in need of a strong partner with broader resources which Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind could offer. The merger gave Winston-Salem IFB a boost in its workforce and a way to maximum efficiencies to better serve customers. Today, the Asheville facility operates like a smaller version of the Winston-Salem plant, with several business lines creating jobs for blind employees and bringing work back to America. Asheville employees specialize in digital cutting, heavy-duty stapler assembly, military poncho liners and the fulfillment of the Impulse Marketing Program, a center that keeps military supermarkets worldwide stocked with items that people buy “on impulse.” 

The commitment of Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind to serving people who are blind or visually impaired beyond employment is very strong. The Winston-Salem location, along with the Asheville location, offer services to the community through local Community Low Vision Centers. An additional center is located in Chapel Hill in central North Carolina and a mobile low vision unit serves all of North Carolina. Low vision services are sustained by the A Brighter Path Foundation, the supporting entity of Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind. The foundation also supports programs such as the Student Enrichment Experience (SEE) and Sensitivity to Blindness Training.  

 75 years later, these organizations remain a beacon of light for the nation and as a whole, serve as the largest employer of individuals who are blind or visually impaired in the United States of America. We believe that all persons who are blind or visually impaired have the right to succeed in every area of life and it is our mission to put this mantra at the forefront of all that we do.