SAN ANTONIO – More than 250 blind employees make a living by working at the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind.
In the past, the nonprofit had relied heavily on government orders for their personally assembled pens an pencils, but now, the San Antonio Lighthouse is teaming up with Walgreens to sell the writing utensils to everyone.
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Selena Cavazos has worked at the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind for more than two years.
She said on Wednesday that she feels an even greater sense of accomplishment knowing that the pens and mechanical pencils that she made are now available at a major retailer.
"We take time in doing it," said Cavazos. "We put a lot of effort in it and we just love doing our job."
Mike Gilliam, San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind CEO, said by teaming up with Walgreens, they are opening up doors for their blind employees.
"We've been in business for 80 years and haven't been able to do that in all that time," said Gilliam. "So for a team to come along like Walgreens and to be able to pull it off in two months is fantastic and it creates jobs for people who are blind, right here in San Antonio."
"We wanted to team up together and see what we could do to help the community, as well as the Lighthouse," said Mike Ordonez, Walgreens' community leader store manager. "So, we thought, "Why not sell their instruments for back to school?"
The pens, mechanical pencils and highlighters have been on display at 39 Walgreens stores throughout San Antonio, Laredo and San Angelo.
The displays can be found in the school supply aisle at the stores, complete with a video, highlighting some of the blind employees who made the products.
"Now, the people can see the kind of work that a visually impaired person can do," said Raul Gamez, a 13-year employee at the San Antonio Lighthouse for the Blind. "Instead of just thinking that blind people can't do anything."
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