October is National Dropout Awareness Month. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 12% of Hoosier working-age adults lack a high school diploma. The Excel Center®, Goodwill’s free high school for adults, is working to decrease that rate by providing adult students the opportunity to pick up where they left off in school, providing support and resources to meet their academic and career goals. 

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is an annual awareness campaign led by the U.S. Department of Labor.  Created in 1988, NDEAM is celebrated throughout the month of October to recognize people throughout our nation who are living and working with disabilities. 

Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana is celebrating the opening of its newest store in Danville on Thursday, October 14, at 9 a.m. Located at 8 Ridge Avenue, the store features a large inventory of clothing, housewares, toys, books and more. Store hours are Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The donation center is also open during normal business hours.

Lawrence Aboyer, soon to be Junior at Purdue University, recently finished his summer engineering internship at Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana. Lawrence worked under Matt Byam, Manufacturing Engineer, and Clara Walker, Quality Engineer at Goodwill Commercial Services.

As the summer came to a close, Millani Evans looked back on her time spent as a Manufacturing Engineer Intern for Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana over the past two summers. 

As I wrapped up my last days with Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana, I wanted to share my own experiences working as a summer 2021 Marketing Intern. 

“Sitting and staring at a wall for six months really messes with you,” said Indianapolis Met High School senior Fayia Samba.

This summer, Antonio Dominguez, Computer Science and Economics Major at Vanderbilt University, worked as an Infrastructure Intern in Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana’s department of Information Technology. 

Goodwill strongly believes it is essential to raise education attainment levels in Indiana. Not only are the lifetime earnings of high school graduates significantly higher than those of individuals who have left school, but the children of high school graduates are also 50% less likely to leave high school themselves. Goodwill provides opportunities for both adults and youth through The Excel Center® and Indianapolis Metropolitan High School.