Goodwill Celebrates 30th Anniversary of USAFA Custodial Contract
Goodwill team cleans 1 million square feet in dorms and administrative buildings daily.
Colorado Springs, Colo. – April 19, 2024— Goodwill of Colorado and the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) are celebrating 30 years of providing meaningful employment to individuals with disabilities and sparkling clean dormitory spaces for cadets. Since April 17, 1994, Goodwill’s custodial contracts team has provided custodial services in dormitory and administrative buildings at the USAFA, employing 62 individuals, including many with a documented disability under a federal AbilityOne initiative.
AbilityOne contracts provide quality jobs and require that 75 percent of direct labor have a documented disability. Currently 47 individuals with disabilities are employed by Goodwill on the USAFA custodial contract, including team member Steve L., who has been with the custodial crew for the entire 30-year duration of the contract. Nine other team members have reached more than 20 years of tenure with Goodwill, including Site Manager Cesar Ochoa. Each day, they clean more than one million square feet within the USAFA Cadet and Basewide Areas.
Goodwill of Colorado President and CEO Karla Grazier said “What the USAFA has done through this 30-year contract is demonstrate that people matter. During the last 30 years, they have helped us provide meaningful employment and a living wage to individuals with disabilities.” Goodwill’s USAFA Site Manager Cesar Ochoa added, “We have an exceptional team, many individuals with 10, 15, 20, and even 30 years with Goodwill—I’m really proud of them. This celebration is a big deal for our employees, and they deserve it.”
In 2021, Goodwill of Colorado earned the CIMS (Cleaning Industry Management Standard) certification with Green Clean Technologies, a comprehensive certification for in-house cleaning organizations, and a demonstration of Goodwill’s dedication to utilizing sustainable, environmentally-friendly practices in its custodial contract operations.
About Goodwill of Colorado
Goodwill of Colorado helps transform people’s lives. We are a registered 501(c)3 organization providing career placement, education and training, and community programs for nearly 150,000 Coloradans each year—including military veterans, seniors, and individuals who have a personal or economic barrier to employment. For more than a century, Goodwill has supported Colorado communities and through our commitment to sustainability annually diverts more than 208 million pounds of donated items from Colorado landfills. Learn more about our impact here and follow @GoodwillColorado on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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