Goodwill® Creates Social Enterprise Capacity to Benefit Persons With Disabilities in Brazil

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Goodwill Industries International has announced it will partner with AVAPE, a workforce development leader in Brazil that provides services to people with disabilities and others with challenges finding employment. The capacity-building project, known as Goodwill Brasil, will be supported with funding from the Caterpillar Foundation over the next three years in the amount of $500,000.

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Nearly one-third of Brazil's population continues to live in poverty, and serious environmental challenges are mounting. To help address these challenges, Goodwill will equip AVAPE with the tools and systems needed to operate a sustainable donated goods retail enterprise. The money that AVAPE earns through these operations will allow the organization to increase its capacity to provide job training, employment and additional support services to people with disabilities, youth at risk for delinquency, and others in Brazil who are having difficulties gaining employment.

"As a proven, environmentally sound social services model that conserves national resources while providing employment opportunities for people with disabilities and disadvantages, Goodwill is providing AVAPE leaders with the tools to launch, sustain and grow sites that will serve vulnerable populations in Sao Paulo, Brazil," said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "The aim is to continue to expand these services to other cities over the next few years."

Despite the Brazilian government's attempt to mandate that businesses hire persons with disabilities, the latest government study reports that the disability hiring quota law is less than 24 percent fulfilled. Goodwill Brasil will help adequately train this population on a large enough scale to meet the growing need. The project will also involve members of the private sector, who will serve as financial investors, employers of productive employees with disabilities, and sponsors of employee donation drives.

"We are proud to partner with Goodwill and AVAPE in this project, focused on people with disabilities and their inclusion in the market," said Luiz Calil, Caterpillar Brasil Country manager. "This partnership will allow the access to professional training, increasing the employment possibilities and improving the quality of life for those Brazilians."

Goodwill Brasil will improve the nation's environmental impact by encouraging people to reuse and repurpose the useable clothing and household items they no longer need by donating them to Goodwill. Goodwill Brasil will continue to replicate and advance, with the goal of educating the Brazilian population on how donations impact both people and the planet.

For more information, visit http://global.goodwill.org.

ABOUT GOODWILL INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL
Goodwill Industries International is a network of 165 community-based, independent agencies in the United States and Canada with 14 affiliates in 13 other countries. Goodwill is one of the nation's top five most valuable and recognized nonprofit brands as well as a leading social services enterprise (Source:  Cone Nonprofit Power Brand 100). Goodwill agencies are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that fund job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 2,600 stores and online at www.shopgoodwill.com. Local Goodwill agencies also build revenue and create jobs by contracting with businesses and government to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packaging and assembly, food service preparation and document imaging and shredding. Last year, more than 3 million people in the United States and Canada benefited from Goodwill's career services. Goodwill channels 84 percent of its revenues directly into its programs and services. To find your local Goodwill, use the online locator at www.goodwill.org or call (800) GOODWILL. Follow us on Facebook: GoodwillIntl and GoodwillBrasil, and on Twitter: @GoodwillIntl, @GoodwillBrasil.

ABOUT THE CATERPILLAR FOUNDATION
The Caterpillar Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Caterpillar Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment. Founded in 1952, the Caterpillar Foundation has contributed more than $500 million to help make sustainable progress possible around the world by providing program support in the areas of environmental sustainability, access to education and basic human needs. More information is available at www.caterpillar.com/foundation.

SOURCE Goodwill Industries International