Workshops Inc. celebrates 120th anniversary, rebrands

A venerable Birmingham organization that has helped train people with visual impairments and other disabilities to become productive workers for well over a century has a new name.

Workshops Inc., based in Avondale, changed its name to Workshops Empowerment Inc. effective in January, according to a news release from the organization.

The name better represents its mission and impact, the release states.

Workshops Empowerment Inc., which began in 1900 as Workshop & Rehabilitation Facilities for the Blind and Disabled, is also celebrating its 120th anniversary.

“This milestone anniversary brought the opportunity to assess the organization’s name and realign it with our work, our mission,” said Joel Blackstock, president of the nonprofit’s board of directors. “We empower people to reach their potential.”

“Our driving force is to see that every person in central Alabama with a disability who wants a job, gets a job,” said Susan Crow, the organization’s executive director. “The name shift reinforces our focus on people. Our success is wrapped up in the success of so many individuals that it’s been our honor to support. So, we’re partial to our new initials — WE.”

When the organization began, it employed individuals with disabilities to make products like brooms and mops.

Workshops fulfilled government contracts during World War I and World War II and later added textiles, woodworking, upholstery and general handiwork to its offerings.

Workshops Empowerment has trained and placed thousands of workers who faced barriers to employment, including traumatic brain injuries or recent incarceration.

Today, Workshops Empowerment focuses on has five areas:

► Vocational training and job placement assistance;

► Employment services for community businesses;

► Outsourcing solutions to local businesses that need fulfillment, assembly, mailing and other hand work;

► Manufacturing products to sell through the WE Made brand, enabling Workshops Empowerment to train people in various aspects of developing, producing, packaging, selling and distributing products. The products include handmade fire starters, dog spray, linen and room sprays, and an all-natural insect repellent.

► Services aimed at helping high-school students with disabilities prepare for the transition from school to work.

“People continue to face barriers to employment, while our state faces a vast shortfall in the skilled workforce. We have experience meeting one foundational need with the other,” Blackstock said.

For more information, go to weincal.org.