The following information was taken from the NISH website:

NISH-

Creating Employment Opportunities for People with Significant Disabilities

‘Established in 1974, NISH is one of two national, nonprofit agencies designated by the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled [a federal government agency] to support nonprofit agencies (NPAs) participating in the AbilityOne Program which provides employment opportunities for people who are blind or have other significant disabilities by procuring federal contracts for goods and services.

Headquartered in Vienna, Va., NISH supports a network of more than 1,300 NPAs as well as federal customers by providing the legislative and regulatory assistance, communications and public relations materials, information technology support, engineering and technical assistance, and extensive professional training needed for successful contract management.’

- Ruth

Click here to download the Services Brochure!

Call me @:  651-999-8213 or email me @ mark.corbett@mdi.org

- Mark

Saturday morning, hoping to snag the big one…the walleyes were elusive, but they did pull in a few bass, sunfish, and “sheepishly” some sheepheads.  The lake was gorgeous and the weather was beautiful!  A few of the other highlights of the event included:  seeing (2) Minnesota Vikings players (eventhough Dale is a Packer fan)….golfing with on-air radio personalities from 93.9 FM….enjoying the BBQ and Shore Lunch….sporting paper “fish hats”….and welcoming the on-set of summer in Minnesota.  Enjoy the pictures…

- Mark

This is a great opportunity for MDI to share our Product and Service Solutions, while creating awareness for people with disabilities.

- Dale

You can download it here: Business North Article

- Barb

Hello world, my name is Dennis Todora. I am the Founder of qwik-keyz™. I’d like to share the story as to how qwik-keyz™ came to life and the value we see partnering with an amazing organization like MDI.

About a year ago I was sitting in my living room with my daughter Grace talking about Apple’s iPhone. Me, my wife and both kids all have iPhones, so it’s common for us to chat about it and all it’s features. Ever since the iPhone came out I have absolutely fallen in love with this device, however I always seem to miss that tactile feel of the keypad that older smartphones have. Regardless of the many new features and uses of the iPhone, I always came back to, “I miss the keyboard on a phone”.

The truth is, most people tend to complain about something and leave it at that, you know? For example, I don’t like this or that about about the phone, and then we continue watching American idol. This time it was different. Grace and I began to talk about how it would look and what we would design.

We marched right out into the garage and grabbed my drill, a 2×4 piece of lumber, and a paper cutout of the face of the iPhone. I began drilling holes, laid a piece of plastic over the holes, and proceeded to use a heated nail to push bumps through. It was a crude prototype to say the least, but seriously people…it felt great to take a complaint about something and channel that into innovation. Presto…qwik-keyz was born.

At the time I was completely uncertain as to what the future of this product was, or if anyone would even like it. I moved forward by having a die cut made and had some prototypes produced. I began passing them out to friends. The overall response was incredibly positive. People began asking where they can buy one, or if they can get a prototype. It wasn’t that simple. There was no budget and we knew we needed a cleaner, crisper prototype, which meant a new die cut. Well folks, those are not cheap. We tossed around some options on how to produce and launch this product and ultimately concluded that Kickstarter would be our best shot at getting these out to the public.

It is now over a year later and we have launched our Kickstarter campaign. This made the most sense as a means to bring our idea to fruition. Over the past 12 months, I built a team of great people to help make this happen. Mike Porter, Fran Greelis, and T.J. McLeod complete the team bringing expertise in graphics, marketing, PR, and communication. My two children, Grace and Dominic have also been closely involved with the process. We now have a patent pending product with several different colors and a fully evolved version for the iPhone. Upon getting funded, we intend to add all smartphone’s with touchscreens and pursue one for the iPad as well.

This brings us to the part that ties MDI into the project. If our project gets funded, our team needs to address a whole new series of questions to get it produced, packaged, and distributed around the world. I have been aware of MDI, its mission, and its capabilities for over 18 months. I have held them in high regard for providing people with disabilities great, meaningful jobs as well as doing absolute top notch work. I value the importance of getting our project done right..the first time around, enter MDI.

At qwik-keyz™ we see the potential for an amazing partnership. We will need to get our product packaged, bar coded, heat sealed and boxed up. This is absolutely in MDI’s wheelhouse. We’ve been eagerly working with MDI to prepare for a hopeful funding on Kickstarter, which would then open up the opportunity for us to work with MDI to get this thing ready for distribution.

Whether this project gets funded or not, I know MDI is the best solution for our business needs here at qwik-keyz™ and we hope to cement a path to a long lasting partnership.

Please help us get qwik-keyz™ funded by visiting our project on Kickstarter!

This has been an amazing ride and we’re excited at the thought of getting qwik-keyz™ mass produced. Please stay tuned for follow up blog posts with updates about our funding on Kickstarter and for product updates too.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to LIKE us on Facebook and follow us Twitter.

- Dennis Todora, Guest Blogger at MDI

Take a look at their findings and see why MDI is a proud, successful contributor to society.

MDI Press Release – 4/6/2011

Wilder Research Report

MDI donated a tote full of fishing goodies for the upcoming Grand Rapids Community Fishing Opener.  The celebration takes place May 11^th 2012 from 4-7 p.m.  Family, friends, and kids of all ages will be joining in the Fishing Opener celebration.

Happy Spring Fishing from MDI!

- Barb

-Melissa

-Gerard