Hermitage – On August 18, the Keystone Blind Association (KBA) will be hold an open house from 3 to 6 p.m. and production facility dedication ceremony at 5 p.m. Thursday, August 18 at its new headquarters at 3056 East State Street. The public is invited to attend the event to tour the facility and learn about the products and services offered by Keystone.
Keystone was established in 1947 to provide services to blind and visually impaired persons in our community. KBA offers services in Mercer, Crawford, Lawrence, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Services are also provided by Keystone’s affiliate agencies in Beaver, Montgomery and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania. These services include Specialized Services (transportation with sighted guide, shopping assistance, life skills, support groups, etc.), Orientation and Mobility Instruction, Vision Rehabilitation Therapy, Assistive Technology, Prevention of Blindness screenings and programs, Keystone Kids/Young Adults programs, and several other employment opportunities.
In addition to the human services, KBA operates a public storefront and production facility for the Keystone line of industrial digging and striking tools and safety helmets. All tools and helmets are assembled by the Keystone team of blind, visually impaired or otherwise disabled workers in its Hermitage building. Keystone also operates a Toilet paper manufacturing facility in the Philadelphia area and employment at PennDOT rest areas as well as seven Driver’s License and Photo ID centers across Pennsylvania.
KBA’s new headquarters is now on a main bus route and within one block of the busiest intersection in Mercer County. This marks the first time in KBA’s history that the public can see the agency from a main thoroughfare instead of driving to a residential area. KBA’s relocation to East State Street gives the agency the opportunity to increase awareness of our operations, expand its programs and services, generate walk-in sales for the products produced by blind and visually impaired employees, and establish a closer connection with the community.
KBA will be dedicating it Production Facility in memory of former KBA employee, Perry Templeton. Templeton was the vice-president of Operations for Keystone for five years until his untimely death in 2009. During his tenure, Templeton quickly recognized that blind employees were capable of more advanced and technical work. Ever alert for opportunities, he arranged a partnership between Seymour Tools and Keystone to assemble fiberglass handled digging and striking tools for the PA Department of Transportation. At the time of his death, he had begun the process of getting our tool line on the Federal Procurement list through National Industries for the Blind. Templeton’s foresight has resulted in KBA becoming the exclusive provider of fiberglass handled tools to the federal government.
For information about KBA programs or services, contact Keystone at 724/347-5501 or visit www.keystoneblind.org.
