Workshops Empowerment Inc.

Workshops Empowerment Inc. (WE Inc., formerly Workshops Inc.) is a non-profit rehabilitation center that prepares people with disabilities or other barriers for full employment. Many of its clients are referred by the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services or the Alabama Department of Human Resources. The organization also operates off-site career development and transition programs, including special programs for youth and for seniors. The current executive director is Susan Crow.

The organization operates a production facility at 4244 3rd Avenue South in Avondale which manufactures retail products under the Avondale Mercantile brand name, and also contracts with businesses for outsourced tasks such as assembly, packaging, and order fulfillment. The center, which employs around 100 people, is accredited as an Affirmative Business Enterprise by CARF International.

The program was founded in 1900. In its early years, workers assembled brooms and mops for sale. Later a sewing room was created, allowing the organization to supply hospitals and clinics with bedding and pajamas. The group secured numerous wartime production contracts during World War I and World War II. In the second half of the 20th century a workshop for woodworking, upholstery and other crafts was added. A Workshops Inc. band, called The Alley Cats, performed for President Nixon during his 1974 visit to Birmingham.

Workshops Empowerment Inc. derives its revenue in nearly equal shares from the State of Alabama, from United Way of Central Alabama, and from its business contracts, with charitable donations filling the gaps.

References

• Rebman, Stephanie (January 26, 2021) "Workshops Inc. renamed Workshops Empowerment Inc." Birmingham Business Journal

External links

• Workshops Empowerment Inc. website