UTSA business with S.A. Lighthouse for the Blind helps change lives
(Aug. 21, 2013) -- The connection of UTSA and the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind (SALB) began with a conversation several years ago between two friends whose children went to the same school. Something that started small has become a collaboration with a great impact on the community.
Several years ago, a meeting between Olivia Lopez, program coordinator for the UTSA Mexico Center and the Bank of America Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute (CAPRI), and Chris Crane, national sales manager for the SALB, led to a significant business relationship. UTSA is now one of the top three commercial accounts with the SALB, purchasing office supplies, equipment and furniture.
The San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization incorporated in Texas. For 80 years, the group has helped people who are blind or visually impaired live high-quality, independent lives by providing rehabilitation services, technology training and employment in its light manufacturing assembly plant.
"I've known Chris Crane for a long time because our kids went to grade school together," said Lopez. "We got together for a meeting, and I realized what a great impact their work was having. She saw the potential for collaboration between the university and the Lighthouse, so Dr. Harriett Romo, the director of CAPRI and the Mexico Center, and I helped set up the Lighthouse as a UTSA vendor. They supplied office materials to us and then other departments started buying from them, and it grew. I've always liked UTSA's commitment to helping others."
"We call our major commercial customers Visionary Partners, so UTSA has that distinction within our agency and when we refer to the school in public," said Crane. "With more than 50,000 blind people in San Antonio, partnering with UTSA has made a significant impact in the lives of many of our neighbors. Since there is a 70-percent unemployment rate among the blind, UTSA purchases help to create jobs for people who are blind and support for these individuals and their families."
The SALB recently was awarded the paper contracts for the John Peace Library and College of Business copy centers at UTSA, along with providing everything from paper clips to printers from a selection of more than 41,000 items for offices across the three UTSA campuses.
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About the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind
Serving more than 6,000 clients each year, the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind is a San Antonio icon for training and educating the blind and severely visually impaired and is a leader in manufacturing for military and government agencies.
Founded in 1933, the Lighthouse began as a small sewing plant on the San Antonio South Side and has grown into an agency that provides employment for more than 450 employees in a 60,000-square-foot manufacturing and rehabilitation facility. More than half of its employees are blind or visually impaired.
The SALB manufacturing operation supports our nation's military efforts by manufacturing office supplies, military helmet chin straps and textile apparel, spill kits and absorbent products, aerospace insulation blankets and airplane floorboards.
SALB operates 14 base service centers on 11 military installations in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico as part of the AbilityOne program, which helps blind and disabled employees nationwide find jobs. AbilityOne partners with nonprofits to provide products made by the blind and disabled to the federal government at fair market prices.
SALB also hosts community events such as Art in the Dark and the SALB Walk Run. To volunteer, visit the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind website.
Events
Join the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.