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Goodwill of the Finger Lakes Celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Oct 1, 2021

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) raises awareness about disability employment and celebrates the many contributions Americans with disabilities make in the workplace.  

At Goodwill of the Finger Lakes, we are proud to support and employ those with barriers to employment, and to especially raise awareness of the workforce capabilities of those who are blind - including our nation's veterans.  Goodwill is an associated nonprofit of the National Industries for the Blind (NIB), and we have employees with barriers throughout our organization at different operating units.

Particularly, employees who are blind and visually impaired assist in the development and distribution of thousands of high-quality products to federal, military, and commercial customers.  Through our contract with SKILCRAFT, our agency is required to have our manufacturing and sewing units compromised largely of team members who are blind and visually impaired.  When businesses purchase our products, it makes it possible for us to employ those with visual impairment right here in our community through the AbilityOne Program.  We also have many employees who sew uniforms for the United States Air Force and Coast Guard right here on our campus!

Did You Know?

  • Nearly 70% of working age Americans who are blind are not employed.  But through your support of programs like this, Goodwill of the Finger Lakes has worked to change that narrative for our local community
  • Our agency produces products through the AbilityOne Program, which helps people who are blind or have significant disabilities build competitive career paths to suit their interests, goals, and capabilities
  • Our employees who are blind continue to demonstrate their dedication to advancing in the workforce and delivering high quality products and services

Our manufacturing and sewing area, which comprises our largest amount of blind employees, is right on our main campus on downtown South Clinton Ave. Our sewing floor always wows people who visit, and you can learn more overall by watching our virtual tour of our main campus. We also encourage tours of our facility and would be happy to work with your organization on this.

Goodwill is More Than A Store - and we will be celebrating our employees throughout the month of October to commemorate National Disability Employment Awareness Month.