At Goodwill flag center, hundreds of people with disabilities help create American flags

WTVD logo
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
People with disabilities employed making American flags
Goodwill says that flag-making is symbolic of the independence the organization hopes to instill.

At a Goodwill center in south Florida, more than 900 employees help craft hundreds of American flags every day. About 96 percent of them are living with disabilities.

The task is more than just a job -- it's symbolic of Goodwill's mission to empower individuals with disabilities through employment, according to Lourdes de la Mata-Little, Goodwill's VP of Marketing Development.

"It's interesting that we make this country's symbol of independence when people who seek Goodwill and seek their services are, in their own way, seeking their own independence," she told WSVN.

About 600 flags a day are made either for the Department of Veterans Affairs or to be sold to the public.

"They have to be perfect because we're talking about the American Flag," said Goodwill flag maker Iris Perez. "It's important, it's for soldiers, and it's a flag that we respect."

See more from this story on WSVN.