In the midwest, it’s time to face the facts. It’s fall. In fact, it’s been fall for a while now. We’ve been layering up and breaking out the sweaters. Speaking of sweaters, if you've browsed Pinterest for simple fall crafts, you've likely seen these cute pumpkins made from sweaters. We decided to give them a try with our own sweater find.

Zachary Mobley, 30, may be one of the first students to attend the newest campus in Bloomington, but he is no stranger to The Excel Center®. Zachary first attended the University Heights location in 2017, making the drive from Bloomington to Indianapolis with his sister daily. Though he received a Certificate of Completion in his youth, Zachary struggled to find consistent, gainful employment without a diploma.

Kee Lab moved to Indiana in 2014 after living in a refugee camp in Thailand. Once her family settled in the Indianapolis area, Kee set out to understand American culture and to learn English. Shortly after she started attending her new high school, she found out that she was pregnant.

October is National Dropout Prevention Month, but Indianapolis Metropolitan High School works year-round on removing the barriers that many students face in trying to complete their education such as homelessness, criminal records, teen pregnancy and more.

As I walked through the sliding glass doors of the Goodwill Outlet-North, I was taken aback by all of the movement happening throughout the store Goodwill employees were working hard to rotate the large, blue bins out onto the floor — a process that happens every hour. Customers shopped around the employees, seamlessly moving from bin to bin, as any outlet veteran would. Some shoppers parked up against the outlet walls, protecting full carts as they waited on family members and friends who were still browsing.

Two years ago, if you had asked April Williams if she thought she would ever graduate high school, the answer likely would have been “no”.

Since she was young, Lindsey Lemen wanted to pursue her college education. Unable to attend college after graduating from high school, she put her dream on hold. Lindsey faced barriers after graduating that made it hard for her to maintain full-time employment. These barriers were removed after she started working at the Goodwill store in Shelbyville, Indiana.

The week of August 25-31, 2019 marked the celebration of Black Breastfeeding Week, a national campaign dedicated to bringing awareness to the nationwide racial disparity in breastfeeding rates. The week focuses on promoting the positive effects that breastfeeding has on an infant’s health and reduction in infant mortality rates, which affects black infants at a higher rate than whites.

Disability Services at Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana helps Hoosiers find employment within Goodwill and outside agencies. Through programs such as Vocational Rehabilitation and Follow-Along Services, Goodwill works hard to provide the best possible work environment for individuals with disabilities and barriers. Disability Services is designed to make the transition into the workforce as seamless as possible, by offering a variety of accommodations. 

Tom Wood Ford recently hosted an open house for Goodwill’s Excel Center students, graduates and mission program participants to learn firsthand about employment opportunities and a service tech apprenticeship program.