(L to R) Elaine Masket, The Arc Westchester Foundation, Scott Pearl, DEL Network and Nancy Patota, The Arc Westchester Foundation.
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HAWTHORNE, N.Y.—Digital Eye Lab Network (DEL Network), a division of ABB Optical Group, received the Corporate Partner Award from The Arc Westchester for its commitment to giving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities the chance to be contributing members of the work force. “We are truly grateful. Grateful not only as the recipients of The Arc Westchester’s Corporate Partner Award but also for the contributions of the eight staff members we have as a result of our relationship with the Arc Westchester,” said Scott Pearl, managing director of DEL Network.

DEL Network operates facilities in Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Nashville, and Hawthorne, N.Y. At its Hawthorne facility, team members hired through the Arc Westchester play an integral role in the manufacturing of spectacle lenses, spanning the process from surfacing to coating to lens cleaning.

“The Arc Westchester has become a strategic business partner of ours. This relationship has opened our eyes to what success should look like,” said Pearl. “We will stop reacting to Arc knocking at our door; instead we will begin to proactively go to them and share our plans; we want to begin to work together in a new and better way.”

The Arc Westchester has been connecting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as those with autism spectrum disorder, to the Westchester employment community since 1949. DEL Network in Hawthorne has eight full-time employees recruited through The Arc Westchester and regularly partners with the organization to promote a diverse workplace.

“DEL Network has proven to be a perfect employment partner to our organization,” said Nancy Patota, executive director of the Arc Westchester Foundation. “They were selected because of their enlightened employment policies and for believing like Arc, that a work environment is always improved when it is made up of a diverse population. This is a Win, Win, Win—a win for the individual, a win for the Arc Westchester and a win for DEL Network.”