When most people think of Goodwill, they think of those store front where people can drop off donations of clothes, housewares and furniture. The work that Goodwill does goes way beyond their storefronts. What many people don't realize is that the money raised by Goodwill's storefronts financially support their numerous programs.

In late April, I worked with BackFocus Productions and Kumpuris Communications to produce the Goodwill Industries of Arkansas tribute videos for their annual awards luncheon. Each year, Goodwill Industries of Arkansas selects an Achiever of the Year, and a Graduate of the Year from hundreds of candidates submitted for consideration by their program coordinators within Goodwill.  The selected winners are awarded during the annual "Turning Jeans into Dreams" with the video presentation of their story. Winners are past clients that have completed Goodwill's Job Training Program, or the TEO (Transitional Employment Opportunities) program.

The Job Training program provides services to anyone that has a disability. This includes developmental and physical disabilities that often make it more difficult to seek training and employment in a traditional method. Through Goodwill Industries of Arkansas' extensive education and training, their achievements are nothing short of inspirational. The TEO program is designed to help clients that were incarserated re-enter society, and gain full time employment.

We also worked on the their videos for their 2013 awards. You can also watch them all on Goodwill's website by going here:

The videos for the 2014 Awards are below. Please be sure to watch the full-screen, HD version.

Goodwill Industries of Arkansas Achiever of the Year 2014 - Jo Wilson from Kumpuris Communications, LLC on Vimeo.

Goodwill Graduate of the Year 2014 - Rayvion Perkins from Kumpuris Communications, LLC on Vimeo.