Keystone Blind Honored for Growing Employment Hours 786%

HERMITAGE, Pa. – The National Industries for the Blind has awarded Keystone Vocational Services with its 2018 Employment Growth Award.

Last year, Keystone Vocational reported 62,959 employment hours for blind workers, a 786% increase from the 2017 total of 7,017 hours.

“Keystone Vocational Services is doing an outstanding job of creating U.S.-based career opportunities for people who are blind,” said National Industries for the Blind President and CEO Kevin Lynch in a release. “This is a great example of the unlimited capabilities of people who are blind working in Pennsylvania and across the country.”

Keystone Vocational is a division of the Keystone Blind Association, based in Hermitage, Pa. Established in 2002, Keystone Vocational manufactures digging and striking tools and provides mailroom and courier services through a federal contract in Boyers, Pa., site of the Office of Personnel Management’s facility in the Iron Mountain mine. All employees are legally blind.

“We are proud to offer employment opportunities for blind individuals throughout the state of Pennsylvania as well as across the country,” said Keystone President and CEO, Laurie Staph. “This year, we have relocated seven individuals from as far away as California to be employed in one of our programs. We are excited that our programs can recognize the abilities blind individuals have in the workplace.”

Among Keystone’s other services are vision screenings, rehabilitation clinics, casework, youth programs, landscape maintenance, janitorial services, document destruction and the sale and distribution of janitorial supplies, coffee and toilet paper. Through affiliates, the agency operates throughout western Pennsylvania and the Greater Philadelphia area.

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