Goodwill Industries Week: Helping people with disabilities help themselves

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This week — May 7-13 — is Goodwill Industries Week in Florida, a time to spotlight Goodwill organizations, community partners and employers who work to support them.

The week was first celebrated in 1951 to educate individuals about the Goodwill mission, which is to help people with disabilities help themselves.

The Florida Goodwill Association includes nine autonomous Goodwill agencies serving multicounty regions. Each aims to help Floridians overcome barriers to employment and become self-sufficient.

Through Goodwill’s work, those who depend on taxpayer dollars for support are able to become taxpayers themselves, reducing the burden on the state and empowering program participants.

Goodwill Association members serve anyone facing barriers to employment, including people with disabilities, seniors, young workers, veterans and military members and their families. The organization also works with previously incarcerated individuals reintegrating back into society.

The program utilizes learning and work ethic to help individuals regardless of educational level or economic background achieve their vision for a better future.

To date, Florida Goodwill members have served nearly 83,000 people, placed more than 7,200 people into jobs and diverted 86,000 tons of materials from landfills by repurposing items as second hand. Goodwill spends 90 cents of every dollar it makes toward its programs and mission.

The nine Goodwill regions include Goodwill of the Gulf Coast in the westernmost portion of the Panhandle; Goodwill Big Bend in the Panhandle; Goodwill North Florida; Goodwill Central Florida; Goodwill Suncoast, which includes the Tampa Bay area; Goodwill Manasota; Goodwill Southwest Florida; Goodwill Gulfstream on the Treasure Coast; and Goodwill South Florida.