2009 Graduate of the Year:
Tiffany Ramos

Tiffany Ramos has been involved with Goodwill and the Able Trust High School/High Tech (HS/HT) program for the better part of a decade. “I don’t remember ever not being involved with High School/High Tech,” she laughs.

When Tiffany was just a few months old, her parents began to suspect that she couldn’t see properly. She was diagnosed with retinal dysplasia, and has been visually impaired most of her life.


Tiffany lost sight in her right eye when she was fifteen, and has low vision in her left, which is aided slightly through corrective glasses. “People have always tried to tell me that I couldn’t do things because of my disability,” Tiffany says. “I got picked on a lot. I’m small, and I have some health problems too. I even had educators and counselors
who’d tell me I wouldn’t make it in the ‘real world.’”

Today, Tiffany is employed as a Program Analyst at the Pentagon, a position she found thanks to the Department of Labor’s Workforce Recruitment Program. “My supervisor asked me if there’s anything I can’t do,” she explains. “I said ‘No,’ and he put me right to work. He didn’t baby me.” Tiffany found the opportunities to develop and grow thanks to Goodwill and HS/HT. “It helped me to become more assertive, motivated, and
self-determined,” she says.

As a HS/HT student at Lehigh Senior High School, Tiffany was a two-time delegate at the Able Trust’s Youth Leadership Forum in Tallahassee. HS/HT also offered Tiffany opportunities to attend career days, college forums, job shadowing experiences, and internships. Despite being told she’d never make it in the “real world,” Tiffany graduated with a 4.16 G.P.A.

“Tiffany is an amazing young woman and an inspiration to all of us,” says Tim Goodman, Goodwill’s HS/HT Program Manager. Goodman, who nominated Tiffany for the Graduate of the Year honor, adds, “She has become a gifted communicator and advocate, and the best example of self-determination that I know of.”

A 2009 Florida Gulf Coast University graduate, Tiffany has continued to represent HS/HT statewide, giving presentations about self-determination, individual education plans, bullying in the classroom, and self-advocacy. “As a person with a disability, it’s extremely important to be an advocate for myself,” she explains. “We have to be able to stand up for our rights.”
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2009 Chet Perry Achiever of the Year:
Danny Brewster

Danny Brewster’s journey with Goodwill Industries of Southwest
Florida began in 2005, when the Goodwill L.I.F.E. Academy first opened its doors. “I prayed for that school,” says Danny’s mother, Brenda Smith. “Kids like Danny needed somewhere just for them.”

Now 22 years old, Danny is developmentally delayed and has autistic tendencies, which began to emerge when he was just eighteen months old. “He totally shut down, stopped talking, stopped feeding himself,” Brenda explains. “It got so bad that people told me I should put him away. But I couldn’t do that to him.”

Brenda’s quest to do the right thing for her son brought him to the L.I.F.E. Academy, Goodwill’s charter middle/high school for students with developmental disabilities.
Danny was one of only six students in attendance on the school’s first day.

After three years at the school, Danny was invited to participate in the L.I.F.E. Academy transition program, which teaches vocational skills. “During vocational class, I saw
Danny grow more social,” says Kettina Gadsden, L.I.F.E. Academy Transition Specialist. “He loved the idea of going to work and becoming independent.”

Danny completed a two-week internship at Goodwill, and after graduation, he was offered a job as a processor at Goodwill’s main facility in North Fort Myers, where he works three days a week. He tells us that he enjoys the work. “At Goodwill, I hang stuff, and put things in boxes,” Danny smiles. “There are a lot of boxes.”

Brenda has seen a change in Danny since he began working. “When he was young, I didn’t ever think Danny would talk,” she says. “Now, he likes to be a part of things.” Since starting his new job, Danny has begun helping around the house more often, doing chores like putting his laundry away. “He’s gained independence,” Brenda adds. “He doesn’t count on mom to do everything for him.”

Danny uses the money he earns at Goodwill to help pay for his braces and his bus fare, and sometimes to go out to lunch with friends and family. “You can tell there’s pride when he gets his paycheck,” says Brenda. “He’s happy; he knows that he’s contributing. And that makes him grow as a person.”
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2009 Business of the Year
Visually Impaired Persons of Southwest Florida

Visually Impaired Persons of Southwest Florida (V.I.P.) is a nonprofit organization which provides skills, support, and opportunities to people with visual impairments.

Because Goodwill and V.I.P. both assist people with disabilities in our community, clients of the two agencies often overlap. “We discovered that all of our clients could benefit from a partnership,” explains V.I.P. Executive Director Doug Fowler.

So we started sharing information on ways to improve the services provided by both agencies.”

Rick Evanchyk, Goodwill’s Senior Vice President of Administration, nominated V.I.P. for the Business of the Year honor. He explains, “It became pretty clear that by collaborating, we could benefit both of our agencies, and more importantly, the people we serve.”

In Fall 2008, this partnership grew, when Goodwill began providing Information Technology services to V.I.P. This was the genesis of Goodwill’s Business Services program, which provides low-cost administrative and technical services to smaller nonprofits.

Because of V.I.P.’s spirit of collaboration, its support of Goodwill’s Business Services program, and its commitment to helping people with disabilities in our community, Goodwill is pleased to honor V.I.P. as the 2009 Business of the Year.
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2009 Employer of the Year
Boca Bargoons

Boca Bargoons’ owner, Ed Wollstein, understands the difficulty that people with disabilities often have when trying to find employment. “My youngest son has Asperger’s Syndrome,” Wollstein explains. “I struggled to get him into a good school,
to get people to accept him.”

Boca Bargoons is a discontinued and closeout fabric boutique with a dozen locations, most of which are in Florida.

When Wollstein opened Boca Bargoons’ newest outlet in Naples, he contacted Goodwill in hopes of providing some jobs to people with disabilities. “We try to do this in all of our stores,” he says. “Though it’s not always easy to find the right support to provide these jobs.”

Finding the right support wasn’t a problem in Naples. Goodwill Employment Consultant Enas Bendeck jumped at the opportunity to place two clients at the store. “The store was really patient and understanding with our clients,” says Bendeck, who nominated Boca Bargoons as Employer of the Year. “They wanted to provide opportunities and room for growth.”

Wollstein admits that hiring people with disabilities is often misunderstood. “Sure, sometimes we face challenges,” says Wollstein. “But I believe God blesses you when
you help people.”
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Special Congratulations to Sandra Martin for Winning the
Goodwill Industries International Co-Graduate of the Year 2009

Sandra was the Goodwill Industries of SWFL, Inc.
Graduate of the year in 2008.

When Sandra Martin lost her eyesight two decades ago, she was a young homemaker with a newborn daughter to care for.  “I taught myself how to do things on my own, things like walking with the cane,” she says.  “But I was really dependent on other people.”

Sandra recalls the moment when she realized she needed to take charge of her own life. “Someone told my 16-year-old daughter that she’d be taking care of me for the rest of her life,” Sandra explains.  “That’s such a big responsibility for a child, to think that they’d have to take care of their parent.”

Determined to become more independent, Sandra traveled to Daytona for eight months
of rigorous coursework—in everything from typing to assertiveness.  “I grew up a lot there,” she says. “I had no computer experience or typing skills. I finally found myself at the age of thirty-nine.”

But even after intensive training, Sandra spent five years actively searching for a job, with no success.  “It’s hard when you’re visually impaired to get a job.  People don’t think you can do it.”

Sandra turned to Goodwill, where she met Employment Consultant Enas Bendeck. 
Enas helped Sandra with her resume, accompanied Sandra on job interviews, and advised Sandra in her search.  “I needed a dedicated, reliable, and knowledgeable source to help me achieve my goal,” Sandra explains.  “Enas really wanted to find the correct job for me.”

Goodwill helped Sandra find a position as an Outreach Coordinator with Visually Impaired Persons (V.I.P.) of Southwest Florida, ending a frustrating five-year job search.  With her guide dog, Anna, at her side, Sandra has become one of Southwest Florida’s most outspoken advocates for the blind.  She has coordinated events and programs to promote awareness, acted as a counselor for people with visual impairments, and is Vice President of the Naples Nites Lions Club. 

“She doesn’t let her disability keep her from getting what she wants,” says Bendeck, who nominated Sandra for the Graduate of the Year honor.  “Nothing’s going to stop her from moving forward.”

Sandra’s goal is to continue helping others in her situation by starting a Lighthouse outreach center in Collier County.  “I know for a fact that having the right person standing up for you makes a big difference.  That’s what Goodwill did for me.”