Goodwill Industries of South Florida provides job training, employment and placement services for people with disabilities and others facing barriers to work. The organization’s president and CEO, David Landsberg, says it is Florida’s largest employer of people with disabilities and the 18th-largest employer in South Florida.
A tour of the organization’s Miami-Dade facility revealed work that extends well beyond its familiar secondhand clothing operations. Goodwill businesses manufacture military and other apparel, provide custodial services at federal workplaces and run a commercial laundry. The organization also offers career training in areas including heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and solar installation, and helps graduates find work in the community.
Among the activities highlighted on the tour was the production of American flags for veterans’ burials. The visitor observed a blind employee sewing the flags with precision and speed. The tour also included a rehearsal by the Spirit of Goodwill Band, whose musicians work for the organization and have a range of disabilities. They are given time during the workweek to practice and perform at community events, including Goodwill’s fundraising gala.
The article describes work as a source of structure, accomplishment and social connection, drawing on the World Health Organization’s 2022 guidelines on mental health at work. It also notes that employment can offer people opportunities to develop relationships and independence beyond their families.
Despite legal protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities remain less likely to be employed. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures cited in the article show that in 2025, the unemployment rate for people with disabilities aged 16 and older was 8.3%, compared with 4.1% for those without disabilities. Among people aged 16 to 64 with disabilities, 41.8% were working or looking for work.
The article presents accommodations and employee training as practical ways to expand the workforce. Goodwill’s founder, Edgar J. Helms, captured the organization’s approach in the phrase “Not charity, but a chance.”
Sources: Psychology Today.