IBVI Also Donates PPE and Safety Glasses to Local Healthcare Workers
While the IBVI mission begins with the employment and empowerment of people who are blind or visually impaired, the products IBVI employees assemble serve a crucial role in government and military operations. In America’s fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19), the blind and visually impaired community in the Milwaukee area has answered the call.
As the crisis surges across the country, especially in New York City, the US military has stepped up to help. The New York National Guard is building makeshift medical facilities for emergency use to battle the COVID-19 virus, and they’re using kits assembled by IBVI to make it happen.
IBVI produces custom “kits” for the US military and government, each consisting of custom-cut and assembled heavy-duty plastic cases full of supplies for a variety of operations. The VSECK, which stands for “Vertical Skills Engineer Construction Kits,” are designed to help troops build or repair structures. These kits provide everything the troops need to complete building and repair tasks, from tools to building materials. They include over 900 different tools per kit, from small drill bits to cement mixers and scaffolding.
The team at IBVI, specifically at the Menomonee Falls facility, compiles these kits to meet US military standards. IBVI then ships them to the destination requested by the military, with very detailed instructions inside of each kit that the soldiers use to assist in their missions.
Now, with the spread of COVID-19 calling for extreme measures, the New York National Guard is using these kits to build facilities that will help front line medical personnel to combat the virus.
“We could not be more proud of our employees who work diligently each day to support our government and military in this time of crisis,” said IBVI president and CEO CJ Lange. “We’re glad to do our part, and the use of our kits to combat COVID-19 shows that our team—and all of us—are capable of great things when we work together.”
In addition to the kits, IBVI is also donating 400 of the highly sought after N95 respirator masks along with 130 pairs of safety glasses that will be split evenly and dropped off to Froedtert’s Hospital in Wauwatosa and Community Memorial Hospital in Menomonee Falls in Wisconsin where availability of those needed medical safety supplies are most needed and running out.
Recently, a local TV station profiled IBVI’s involvement in the fight against COVID-19, and you can watch the story here.