This North Texas Giving Day, we’re raising $15,000 to fund specialized forklift equipment, so Goodwill Dallas can train and place more people with barriers to employment into good jobs across North Texas.
John’s Story
John grew up in Dallas raised by a single mother with four siblings. From a young age, he learned the importance of responsibility and perseverance. Like many people in our community, he faced real barriers when trying to build a stable career.
Through Goodwill Dallas Career Services, John completed forklift training and strengthened his digital skills. Today, he is focused on building a future in logistics and hopes to move into warehouse management. The training gave him skills, confidence, and a clear path forward.
John’s story reflects what many adults across North Texas are looking for — the chance to gain real skills and move into good jobs, even when the odds have been against them.
How Goodwill Dallas Career Services Helps
At Goodwill Industries of Dallas, Career Services helps adults with barriers to employment build the skills and confidence they need to succeed. We offer free job training, certifications, and personalized support to help people overcome obstacles and connect with real employment opportunities in high-demand fields.
One of our most in-demand programs is forklift certification. Local employers in warehousing, distribution, and manufacturing consistently need certified operators. Since launching our forklift training program in October 2025, 123 participants have enrolled, and we have trained and certified 87 individuals. On this North Texas Giving Day, we are raising $15,000 to purchase a stand-up reach lift — specialized narrow-aisle forklift equipment. This investment will allow us to increase the number of people we can train and place into good jobs each year.
A stand-up reach lift (narrow-aisle reach truck) — the specialized forklift equipment Goodwill Dallas plans to purchase with North Texas Giving Day support.
More Stories of Impact
Eugenio, who came to the U.S. from Venezuela, also found his path through forklift training at Goodwill. He joined the team at the Frisco store and saw the training as an opportunity to grow. Even when he worried about his English, his instructor made him feel welcomed. “I felt very welcomed,” he says. “More skills can improve your life in this country. From now on, I am part of Goodwill’s mission.”
Stories like John’s and Eugenio’s show what becomes possible when people have access to meaningful training and support.
At Goodwill Industries of Dallas (Goodwill), we are changing lives, one job at a time. We exist to help people with barriers recognize and reach their full potential and experience a life filled with purpose, accomplishment, and self-sufficiency.
Since 1923, Goodwill has supported thousands of North Texans seeking opportunity, stability, and independence-including individuals with disabilities, those reentering the workforce, and people facing economic or personal barriers to employment.
A new stand-up reach lift will allow Goodwill Dallas to create more stories like these. This specialized equipment expands our capacity to train more people safely and effectively — helping more as many adults with barriers to employment step into stable, good-paying jobs across North Texas.
Our core values are respect, commitment, improvement, integrity, and service. The consistent execution of these core values drives success for both our organization and those that we serve. Goodwill Industries of Dallas, Inc. is committed to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture that encourages and celebrates the distinct voices of our people and clients. It is through our shared awareness, commitment, and embodiment of these principles that we foster a culture of belonging, where everyone is welcome and appreciated, because diversity, equity, and inclusion is not just something we do, it is the core of who we are.
Organization name
Goodwill Industries of Dallas, Inc.
Tax id (EIN)
75-0800649
Causes
Employment & Workforce Development
Operating Budget
$10,000,000 or more
Counties Served
Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Navarro, Rockwall
BIPOC Serving
Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Other
Address
3020 N WESTMORELAND RD