I’m a label-reading shopper. When buying produce at the commissary, I always look for the display signage telling me if the strawberries came from Louisiana or California. I aim to buy products made in the USA. I aim to support companies that give back to our military community. My emotions definitely influence my buying behavior.
Military family stocks up on SKILCRAFT products at a commissary.
When I learned about the 60-year-old partnership between National Industries for the Blind and the military commissary program, I couldn’t help but look around my house to see if I had recently purchased any products with the SKILCRAFT® logo from my military commissary.
My mop? SKILCRAFT
My dish gloves? SKILCRAFT
My favorite blue dish scrubber? SKILCRAFT
The red clipboard at the military treatment facility’s Emergency Room? SKILCRAFT
Even the black ballpoint pens that I pull out of my husband’s uniform before tossing it in the washing machine are a SKILCRAFT product.
Why was I looking for SKILCRAFT products? SKILCRAFT is the brand name for quality products made by people who are blind.
More importantly for label-reading shoppers like me, the SKILCRAFT logo means that your purchase is helping to create U.S.-based jobs for people who are blind.
Did you know that 70 percent of working-age Americans who are blind are not employed? National Industries for the Blind’s mission is to change that statistic.
History of SKILCRAFT Products on Military Bases
In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed legislation giving federal contract priority to nonprofit agencies that produce products made by people who are blind. This federal legislation was the first step toward showing that Americans who are blind could produce high-quality, competitive products for the military.
During World War II, NIB employees manufactured mops, brooms, mailbags and pillowcases for service members. In the 1950s, this partnership expanded when military commissaries began selling SKILCRAFT dishcloths, doormats and clothespin bags. The SKILCRAFT trademark was created at this time, so that commissary shoppers would know their purchase was supporting jobs for Americans who are blind. By 1957, NIB reported that commissary sales provided more than 270,000 hours of employment per year.
Today, NIB associated agencies operate 151 AbilityOne Base Supply Center stores at military bases and federal government installations nationwide. Service-disabled veterans and military dependents may work at these AbilityOne Base Supply Center stores.
Over the years, NIB started manufacturing cleaning supplies and office products, including ballpoint pens. Today, NIB and its associated agencies produce more than 7,000 SKILCRAFT products.
Variety of SKILCRAFT kitchen and cleaning products produced by NIB associated agencies.
High-Quality SKILCRAFT Products Available at Your Commissary and Exchange
Our service members can purchase the SKILCRAFT products they use at work from the AbilityOne Base Supply Center. Military spouses, dependents and veterans can support the mission of National Industries for the Blind by purchasing SKILCRAFT products at their commissaries or exchanges.
These high-quality products are manufactured specifically for military families. There are 900 products available at 244 commissary stores worldwide, 175 AAFES stores and 121 NEX and MCX stores.
One of these products, which I frequently use, is the SKILCRAFT premium strength plastic flatware. This flatware, which is manufactured by LC Industries in North Carolina, is dishwasher safe, reusable and disposable. In other words, it’s perfect for those neighborhood block parties and packing in my daughter’s lunch box.
Buying SKILCRAFT Products Makes a Difference in the Lives of Disabled Veterans
NIB and its nationwide network of associated nonprofit agencies are the largest employer of people who are blind in the United States, employing more than 5,600 people. In fiscal year 2015, NIB and its associated agencies generated 479 new job opportunities for people who are blind, including veterans.
Did you know that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have created more injuries resulting in blindness than any conflict since the Civil War?
Because of these disabling injuries, NIB designed its Wounded Warrior Program. This program, which is specifically for injured veterans, aims to secure employment for these men and women through National Industries for the Blind.
A SKILCRAFT product is more than a high-quality item for my home or my husband’s office.
Purchasing an item with the SKILCRAFT logo on it is a way of saying “yes” to opportunities for people who are blind.
Your purchase shows support.
Your purchase shows commitment.
Your purchase is paving the way for the next 60 years of partnership between National Industries for the Blind, the Defense Commissary Agency and military families around the country.
Indulge your emotional buying behavior today. Look for SKILCRAFT products the next time you’re shopping at your military commissary.
