Each year, Goodwill celebrates some of the most extraordinary Hoosiers we serve through a ceremony that honors recipients across seven award categories. Eligible nominees include employees, students, program participants and community partners. When you donate and shop at Goodwill, you're empowering people in your community, like those whose stories you can watch below, so thank you for your support. Together we're changing lives!

As Black History Month proceeds, Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana continues to celebrate Black leaders, mission participants and students who contribute to fulfilling our mission each day. Michelle Washington has shown great dedication to this mission during her career, serving as a Goodwill Nurse-Family Partnership® Nurse Home Visitor, a Nurse Supervisor, and now, one of the Directors of Operations for the program.

When you donate, shop and make financial gifts to Goodwill, you're changing the lives of thousands of the most vulnerable Hoosiers. We’re so thankful for supporters like you who are making an impact in central and southern Indiana. Together, we're changing lives. THANK YOU!

In 2019, when Charity Watkins became pregnant with her daughter, she enrolled in Goodwill Nurse-Family Partnership®, a maternal health program that pairs moms with registered nurses. As she participated in this program, Charity expressed her desire to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA). Her nurse referred her to Goodwill Ignite.

Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana’s Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP) pairs first-time parents with registered nurses who provide ongoing home visits and support to families. However, providing the very best start for children during the earliest, most developmentally critical years often requires support for both NFP Nurse and mother. Many essential resources available to our families and nurses are rooted in the work of the NFP Community Health Workers. 

When Dea'Jenay Reid discovered she was pregnant with her first child, she was 23 and finishing a rigorous nursing school program. While the idea of parenting brought a lot of feelings of excitement, it also brought many uncertainties and feelings of anxiety. When she learned of Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana’s Nurse-Family Partnership® program during a prenatal visit with her doctor, she was eager to enroll.

Hired in October 2011, Marilynn was the first nurse home visitor to be a part of Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana’s Nurse-Family PartnershipⓇ (NFP). She learned of Goodwill’s Nurse-Family Partnership from a former colleague, Mary Webber, who supported NFP coming to Indiana. Mary encouraged Marilynn to join the program, thinking she’d be a great fit.  As for Marilynn, she found her passion conducting home visits while working at Indiana University. She applied to the NFP position hoping to turn that passion into a career.

Oumou Samake was born in Africa but lived in Paris, where she received a degree in social work prior to immigrating to the United States with her husband in 2016. Shortly after arriving, she learned she was pregnant.