When Damiyah Lawrence enrolled at Indianapolis Metropolitan High School during her freshman year, she struggled with a learning disability.

If you’re familiar with Goodwill, you probably recognize us as a place where you can donate your unwanted goods to support employment for people with job barriers and shop for unique treasures at a great price. What you might not know is that we’re more than just a thrift store. With the proceeds generated from your shopping and donations, we empower people to change their lives through the health, education and employment services we provide through our support programs, including:

Goodwill Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP) is a maternal-child health program that pairs registered nurses with first-time, expectant parents. Through one-on-one visits, NFP Nurses deliver trusted information to families for healthy births and childhoods until the child turns two. Every spring, Goodwill NFP highlights a nurse who has exceeded their expectations with the “Nurse of the Year” accolade.

Thanks to your support, lives are being changed in your community. In addition to significant growth in our Retail, eCommerce and Commercial Services divisions over the past year, we currently employ nearly 5,000 Hoosiers – 61% of whom have barriers to employment, like a disability, criminal history or lack of a high school diploma. 

In 2012, Carlton Foster enrolled at The Excel Center®, Goodwill’s high school for adults, to earn his diploma and expand his career possibilities. He would go on to be the first graduate of The Excel Center’s Anderson, Indiana, location while also earning multiple industry-recognized job certifications.

Lizbeth Cruz Gonzalez, 36, has constantly been striving for the best opportunities in her life, even at a young age. Originally from Mexico, Lizbeth wanted to pursue her education, but it came with challenges.

At the age of 13, Katie Reigelsperger learned she was expecting a child. Lacking a support system as her parents struggled with substance abuse and alcoholism, Katie's parents withdrew her from school. While her friends were applying to college and attending prom, Katie was caring for her baby, changing diapers and working a series of low-paying jobs that lacked advancement and had little financial security or benefits. Then she learned about The Excel Center®, Goodwill’s tuition-free high school for adults, and her career path and life were forever changed.

Saja Abbas arrived in the U.S. in 2009 as a refugee. Born in Iraq, her family was forced to flee their home in 2006 to escape war. As a result, Saja missed out on attending middle school and high school. 

Goodwill New Beginnings, Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana’s reentry program, was excited to celebrate its second graduation in 2023. In a June ceremony, 12 individuals who have experienced the justice system were honored for accomplishing their reentry goals and fulfilling all of the requirements to graduate from the program.

Kris Bussey was only 10 years old when she was first introduced to painkillers on the school bus.