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<p class="MsoNormal">Please Do not reply to this email, this is an announce only list.
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<p class="MsoNormal">From the desk of Marlon Stover, President<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Charlotte nonprofit to lay off over 100 people, citing lack of new contracts .<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By Desiree Mathurin.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A nonprofit textile manufacturer in Charlotte that employs and assists the visually impaired is laying off over 100 people. Lions Services Inc., headquartered in east Charlotte, will be laying off 107 people by July 1, according to a Worker
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) report filed on May 1. Such notices are required by federal law during mass layoffs. According to its LinkedIn page, Lions Services employs between 200 and 500 people. After the completion of a contract, work
decreased for the nonprofit, according to the report. And with no "comparable replacement," layoffs were necessary to maintain operations. A majority of the workers being laid off were machine operators, assemblers and sewing machine operators. The nonprofit
has experienced layoffs before for a similar reason. In 2022, Lions Services saw a 66% decrease in orders, Spectrum News previously reported. With the decrease, the nonprofit laid of 40 people, although some returned. It's unclear if any of the workers in
the latest round of layoffs will have the option to be rehired. Lions Services didn't immediately return a request for comment on Tuesday. The layoffs come at what should be a joyous moment for Lions Services. On May 21, the nonprofit will reveal the Charlotte
Braille Trail, a one-mile pathway and interactive art display that will connect the nonprofit's headquarters at North Tryon Street to the Sugar Creek Light Rail Station. The path lined with tactile guides and Braille signage will also bring users to other
spots in NoDa, such as the Independent Picture House. It's unclear if the layoffs will delay the opening of the project. About Lions Services Lions Services was founded in 1935 by the Charlotte Central Lions Club as the Charlotte Workshop for the Blind. It
employed World War I veterans to re-cane chairs. In 1975, it became a nonprofit that provided training and employment for the visually impaired. Some training includes access to technology to improve digital equity. The nonprofit also offers a stipend to help
the visually impaired buy tools to support their independence. The facility produces Army and Air Force uniforms, helmet bands and Humvee seat cushions. .
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Marlon Stover, President<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><a href="mailto:stovermd7@gmail.com">stovermd7@gmail.com</a><u>
<o:p></o:p></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size:11.0pt">980-253-1896 <o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Shemika Robinson, vice-President
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">shemikarobinson33@gmail.com<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">704-606-3020<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND KNOWS THAT BLINDNESS IS NOT THE CHARACTERISTIC THAT DEFINES YOU OR YOUR FUTURE. EVERY DAY WE RAISE THE EXPECTATIONS OF BLIND PEOPLE, BECAUSE LOW EXPECTATIONS CREATE OBSTACLES
BETWEEN BLIND PEOPLE AND OUR DREAMS. YOU CAN LIVE THE LIFE YOU WANT; BLINDNESS IS NOT WHAT HOLDS YOUR BACK. THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND-- It IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">The happiest people don't have the best of everything - they just make<br>
The best of everything they have... So please remember: Live simply.<br>
Love generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly. Leave the Rest to God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">And remember - the richest person is not the one who has the most, but<br>
The one who needs the least. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_Hlk187220046"></a><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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