Goodwill Industries International Recognizes National Disability Employment Awareness Month

By Steven C. Preston, President and CEO at Goodwill Industries International

Goodwill Industries International is committed to providing employment, education, and skill-building opportunities to people around the world.

In addition to our 156 local organizations in the United States and Canada, Goodwill has a presence in 12 other countries. We work with partners and individuals who are dedicated to addressing poverty and unemployment for people with disabilities and other challenges to finding jobs. Goodwill is committed to advancing our proven model on a global scale.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The observance was declared in 1988 by the United States Congress to raise awareness of the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities.

Last year, Goodwill provided support to more than 140,000 people with disabilities through a variety of services and employment.

Goodwill Industries International is committed to providing employment, education, and skill-building opportunities to people around the world.

In addition to our 156 local organizations in the United States and Canada, Goodwill has a presence in 12 other countries. We work with partners and individuals who are dedicated to addressing poverty and unemployment for people with disabilities and other challenges to finding jobs. Goodwill is committed to advancing our proven model on a global scale.

Recently, I returned from Korea, our largest affiliate outside of North America, whose mission is entirely focused on serving people with disabilities. In Korea, there is a gap in social services available for people with disabilities and often a stigma surrounding them.

70% of the people employed by Goodwill in Korea have a disability. The mission was visible everywhere—in the signage, among the people and in the atmosphere of the store.

As I heard through conversations with many members of our team, our stores are a wonderful example of the power of work in the lives of people who might find it otherwise difficult to find or sustain employment. People described how much they like to engage with customers, the pride they have in preparing merchandise for resale, and the joy they experience working on a team.

Most profound, perhaps, was my conversation with a young man who was worried about his parents. Why? Because he knew they were worried about his future as a person with disabilities, and his Goodwill job relieved them of that concern. It is easy to overlook the emotional burden that the people we seek to serve carry. When he told me his mother is happy he works for Goodwill, I told him we are happy too. It was the biggest smile I saw all week. It was a blessed window into the heart of someone served by Goodwill. A day on the job couldn’t get better than that.

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