As a high school senior, Ryan Keith Harding (Keith) had it all figured out: he would attend college at A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he was awarded a scholarship. After graduation, he would do a stint in the Marine Corps before settling into a career with the North Carolina Highway Patrol. 

“Uncle Keith was athletic and tall,” said one of his nieces. “He was a presence. When he walked into a room, people noticed.”

But just as Keith was preparing to take his first step into adulthood, the unthinkable happened. He was involved in a life-threatening car accident that left him paralyzed, unable to voluntarily move the lower parts of his body and confining him to a wheelchair.

At first, he struggled to adjust to this new reality and grieved about the future that he worked so hard to achieve, but he didn’t feel sorry for himself for long. He quickly embraced a new vision for himself, and with it, the most daunting challenge of his life. 

At the same time, a partnership between Goodwill Industries of South Piedmont, IBM, the North Carolina Department of Rehabilitation, and the Choanoke Area Development Association of North Carolina culminated in the Computer Programming Training Program (CPTP), which provided persons with disabilities an opportunity to learn complex computer programming skills – at no cost. 

The program was limited to 18 students, but Keith worked diligently and applied himself. Upon completion, he went on to serve IBM’s Global Services Division, traveling all over the country implementing point-of-sale systems. After IBM, Keith worked for the United States Marine Corps as an IT Manager.

In 2001, he co-founded Ryan Consulting Group, Inc. (RYAN), in Indianapolis, to help businesses manage and interpret the intelligence in their various databases. The company doubled in size over the next five years, and in 2007, he was honored as the Small Business Administration’s Region 5 Small Business Person of the Year.

He may have been confined to a wheelchair, but as someone noted at his funeral, "Keith achieved more sitting down than most people do standing up." He did not recognize any limits for himself, and that’s the message he instilled in others.

Keith was eager to give back to the organization that supported him when he was at the lowest point of his life. He joined the Goodwill Foundation of Central & Southern Indiana’s board of directors, and he mentored individuals at Goodwill’s Commercial Services facility who were previously involved with the criminal justice system. He also served as a mentor to youth at Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility through the Last Mile Program, which helps participants gain job ready skills in computer coding.

Keith included a planned gift in his will to Goodwill. After he passed away last year, his niece called Goodwill to make the gift as his executor. Keith’s gift is an honor to his memory as it will empower many of the people we employ, educate, and serve at Goodwill.  

The GW Society is for people who have included Goodwill in their will. You can leave a legacy, like Keith, that will impact the future of your community.

Are you interested in joining the GW Society or have you already included Goodwill in your will? Let us know by contacting Cindy Tow at cindy.tow@goodwillindy.org.