Blind Vendors of Tennessee
Help Us Support Future Generations of Blind Tennesseans.
Blind Vendors of TN is a grassroots organization of blind business owners united by a shared mission: to give back to the communities that support us, educate the public about our program, and ensure that future generations of Tennesseans who are blind have the same opportunity for independence that changed our lives. We believe that when you’ve been blessed with opportunity, you have a responsibility to use it well.
We are business owners, not employees.
We purchase our own inventory, manage our own operations, hire our own staff, and take on all the risk and reward of entrepreneurship.
We pay into the system.
A portion of our earnings funds training for new vendors and supports the program's administration and development. We're invested in each other's success.
We employ Tennesseans and benefit Tennessee.
Across the state, blind vendors employ hundreds of workers - delivery drivers, stockers, warehouse staff - creating jobs in communities from Memphis to Mountain City. Our profits stay here. They support Tennessee families, not out-of-state private equity firms.
We serve without special treatment from customers.
The opportunity we receive is access to locations, not a guarantee of success. Every dollar we earn comes from running a business that people choose to patronize.
We are the architects of our success.
We stock machines, handle bookkeeping, run payroll, negotiate with suppliers, and manage the everyday demands of our operations using our own skills paired with screen reading software and other adaptive technology. And yes, we have employees - but so does any business at scale. Blindness changes how we do some things, not whether we do them.
