Supporting a Path to Independence

Choptank and Perdue team up in support of the blind

By Bobby Schaller, MultiMedia Manager

Disabilities are not fair.

No one requests for their life to be even more difficult. Although the levels vary, all of us deal with adversity on a day-to-day basis.This story is a story of human resilience and how our co-op helped to make a difference. The CDC reports that 1 in 4 people in America live with a disability. It also reports that nearly 5% of our population is legally blind. 

Imagine living your life, with all of its required navigation and responsibilities that life holds, and one day you wake up and you can’t see anymore. Your eyesight is gone, but everything you have to do and all the places you have to go are all still there. You still have to get up, get ready, get to work, be productive, and then come home, make dinner, clean up and get ready for bed. All while being blind. This life-changing event happens often, and the people who this happens to are the exact same people that Blind Industries & Services of Maryland (BISM) train, employ and build their nonprofit organization around. BISM helps the blind adapt to the realities of life and gives them training to regain independence. The majority of staff that train blind people are blind too. Danielle Earl, Manager of the Seeing Program and blind herself, says, “We believe that the skills taught from a blind person to another blind person are the best.”

Blind Industries has two locations in Salisbury, Maryland. One of the main products they produce is the GEN III, Layer 4, Cold Weather Gear System for the U.S. Army. These jackets help protect our freedom, they have to be perfect and 500 coats are produced by blind workers every day. With 14 different sizes, there is a lot to keep track of, inspect and organize. One location cuts all of the fabric and the other location puts it all together. The factory that pieces the jackets together also has a training facility that helps the blind adapt to their disability and gain independence.

The entranceway into the training facility had become unsafe and was beyond repair. “Every day we would walk up here for work and feel like we were going to fall through it,” says Danielle.

"The ultimate goal of BISM is twofold, employing blind people with meaningful jobs and supporting our training programs. And, community partnerships are part of the way to get there so we greatly appreciate Choptank for stepping up for this project."

- Dr. Michael Gosse, Blind Industries President

Choptank Trust Board member Ed Henry of Wicomico County caught wind of this important need and we teamed up with Perdue Farms to donate $35,000 for a safe and proper entranceway. The Choptank Electric Trust donated $5,000, funds made available through our program, Operation Round Up®. The new entranceway and deck was installed this past March with a ribbon cutting in May. “This entrance is so much better than what we had before,” Ms. Earl concludes.

Thank you to our partnership with Perdue and thank you to BISM for allowing us the opportunity to support such a great cause, as well as everything you do for the blind community. To learn more about our Operation Round Up® Trust program go to > choptankelectric.coop/operation-round-trust-fund.

To help support BISM and order great products at competitive prices, go to > www.shopbism.com.