Low Vision Information

The Association of Blind Citizens operates the Assistive Technology Fund

The Assistive Technology Fund (ATF) will provide funds to cover 50% of the retail price

of adaptive devices or software. The ABC board of directors believes that this program will allow blind and visually impaired individuals access to technology products that will have a significant impact on improving employment opportunities, increase the level of independence and enhance their overall quality of life.

The products covered by this program must retail for a minimum of $200 with a maximum retail price of $6,000. Persons eligible to apply for assistance must have a family income of less than $50,000 and cash assets of less than $20,000. Applications will be reviewed by the Assistive Technology Committee (ATC) and recommendations will be submitted for board approval. If applicants are selected to receive a technology grant, applicants will be asked to provide documents such as tax returns, bank statements and any other documents that the ABC board or it’s designee would deem necessary to assess financial need for the grant.

Applicants must be legally blind and a resident of the United States to qualify for this program. Applications must be submitted by December 31st for each grant period (two per year). Applicants will be notified if their request for a grant is approved. Applicants may submit one request per calendar year. All applications must be submitted via e-mail.

You will be notified by ABC within 45 days after the application deadline. The grantee will have 30 days after notification to purchase the product. If the purchase cannot be made within 30 days, ABC reserves the right to withdraw the award and assign it to another applicant. All decisions are final.

You may complete a “request form” which you can find on

www.blindcitizens.org/assistive_tech.htm

You may fill out the request form on the above web page and paste it in to your word processor and email it to: atf@blindcitizens.org

IMPORTANT: Requests must be received via e-mail only, by December 31st.

Fundraising

The 60th Anniversary Celebration was held on September 19, 2008 at the Greensburg Country Club.  Those in attendance enjoyed an evening of great food, fun and entertainment!

 

 

 

September 10, 2008 was the United Way “Day of Caring” at WCBA.

The volunteers from JC Penney Co. were great, and we got a fresh coat of paint for

various  parts of the building.  Other volunteers from Allegheny Energy went on a fishing trip with the folks from the Work Activity Center.

THANK YOU, UNITED WAY!

 

 

 

Holiday Greetings from the Work Activity Center/ATF

          The shredding Department in the Work Activity Department is in full operation now.  Everything is running according to plan.  The new Baling system is fantastic!!  We have worked out all of the “kinks” with the system and its set-up so that everything is running smoothly.  It is quite impressive to see.  If you’d like to come in and take a tour of the system, please feel free to give me a call.  We would like to thank all of our employees for their dedication in the shredding department, without them we could never have grown like we have.

We are looking to have a Holiday  “Open House” for the Work Activity Center in December.  Look for more information at a later date.

We would like to welcome some new employees to our department since the last newsletter.  Welcome to Paul Gray, Michael Meiskey, Greg Wallace, Carol Yesko, Paul Brown, Thomas Sears and Lorri Taylor.  We hope everyone stays for a while!

The Adult Training Facility is up and running now.  It is with great pleasure to see clients so involved in the activities that are going on in that department.  They went on an outing to Living Treasures in September.  Fun was had by all, including the staff!  We are in the process of planning another trip.

A REMINDER FOR THE UPCOMING WINTER MONTHS:  Cancellations and delays will be on KDKA Radio and Channel 2 News ONLY!  Please stay tuned when the weather turns messy!

Lissa Glass, Program Specialist

 

Holiday Greetings from the Embroidery Department

             The Holiday Season is always a hectic time of the year—so to help with shopping ideas please feel free to stop in to our Lobby retail area for your gift giving needs.  You are sure to find a great Christmas idea or clever stocking stuffer.

We have started doing work with a new company doing contract embroidery.  We are making Hooters items for a Las Vegas casino.  This is  a great job to receive which will require us to produce 500 to 1,000 shirts per month!

Our Embroidery Department offers the finest products guaranteed, especially if you are looking to promote your business, advertise your company or just bring attention to a promotional event.  Our prices are very competitive and we have a prompt “turn around” time along with superior quality.  We also offer top quality name brand lines of clothing in a variety of styles, colors and sizes.  All embroidery is done “in-house” on state of the art computerized embroidery machines.

For inquiries please contact Sue Henderson at WCBA, Monday thru Friday at 724-837-1250 (ext. 28)

Have a Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sue & Lori

 

Holiday News

From the Manufacturing Department

              Things are really “hoppin” in the Manufacturing Department at WCBA these days!  The JS List Bag project is in full operation, with 4,000 bags due in November and 5,000 bags due in both December and January 2009!  There will be 1,000 bags due for February 2009.

There is an additional order of 19,000 Flight Deck Jerseys over the next several months, and 2,000 Flyers Kit Bags over the next three months.  We also acquired a contract for the State Hospitals to manufacture 56 dozen mattress pads.

Needless to say, things are pretty hectic in Manufacturing, but we’re happy to announce the addition of two Leader Dogs (Bradley and Iso) to our work place family.  We are hoping they enjoy us as much as we enjoy them.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season with much happiness and good health in the New Year!!

Connie Panko, Manufacturing Supervisor

 

 

    

Holiday Greetings from the WCBA

Board of Directors

Carol Petrusky—Chairperson

             Dominic Acalotto

             Paul A. Bazzano

             Jack Cherubini

             George DeCaro

             Frank Farrell

             Mary Ann Grec

             Lawrence J. Helkowski

             Phil Horrell

             Paul King

             Lee Kunkle

             Barry Miller

             Les J. Mlakar

             Kent Platos

             Tony Saulle

             Mark Tintori