In life, there are those companies and individuals which “talk the talk” about how to help those in need and to make our world a better place, and then there are those who do something to make it happen. For the past three decades, Goodwill Communications has been distributing public service campaigns to improve the human condition, but that is what we do professionally – how we earn our living. Beyond that, we have contributed our time and resources pro-bono on several important social issues as described below.

iAM ABLE Fitness

The newest of our Good Causes initiatives is a public education campaign on behalf of iAm Able Fitness, a South Florida non-profit exercise facility that helps people with spinal cord injuries regain their strength and mobility.  

By raising public awareness of spinal cord injuries and paralysis, iAm Able Fitness is building a community to support their work, which will result in:

• Reducing the incidence of accidents that result in spinal cord injuries by alerting the public to the dangers of certain behaviors

• Greater independence among those affected by spinal cord injuries

• Lesser dependence on society and insurance programs that have limits

• A unique model that can be replicated in other communities across the country

Our Role

Goodwill Communications wrote a 40-page marketing plan for IAFF, the center piece of which was to produce a TV public service announcement to be distributed to South Florida TV stations in both English and Spanish. Normally that is an easy task, but we had an added layer of complexity - everything had to be done for free, because there was simply no marketing budget.

After months of planning, script writing, arranging for the actual TV PSA to be shot on location, finding professionals who would undertake this entire effort pro-bono, we finally completed the assignment. You can view the TV PSA at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTMiDZ9GWGM

None of this would have been possible without the assistance of a variety of different professionals who contributed their time and effort to the cause pro-bono. They include:

WSVN-TV in Miami Florida, and Lily Pardo, their public service director, who arranged the PSA cinemaphotography;

Chuck Husak, creative director at August/Lang/Husak in Bethesda, Maryland, who wrote the script and provided other production assistance;

Charles Roggero, independent film maker and producer, who directed the PSA;

Henninger Media Services, and Sarah Ellison in particular, who arranged for the post production of the TV PSA;

Dawgs & Witches, the mobile food truck operated by John Kerr, Jr. who provided food for the production crew during the filming of the PSA, as well as serving all clients undergoing fitness training on the day the PSA was filmed.

Blue Star Stuff, a design and printing company operated by Jerry and Jo Leonard, who designed and printed the collateral elements used in the TV part of the campaign.

The Goodwill Communications Connection

We learned about iAm Able Fitness because Jerrod Kerr, the nephew of our principal, was severely injured in a traffic accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.  Only five percent of people who experienced his traumatic event survived to tell their story, much less develop a campaign to help others with similar injuries.

About iAm Able Fitness

For more information on Alfredo and Michelle Iglesias, the founders of iAm Able Fitness, click on:  http://www.iamablefitness.org/

About Movement Marathon

For more information on Jerrod Kerr, the founder of Movement Marathon, click on: www.goodwillcommunications.com/MovementMarathon.aspx

Supporting Our Troops

The principal of our firm served in the U.S. Army during the Cuban missile crisis - the only time America went to DEFCON2 since the Second World War.  Overseas, he served on a missile base less than 100 miles from the Communist border.  This experience forged a bond with his fellow soldiers who were treated very badly as they came back from Viet Nam.  Largely due to these experiences, Goodwill Communications has a 30 year history of supporting our veterans.

Dedication TV PSA

An ongoing pro-bono effort for our firm, has been a campaign we launched several years ago to show support for our troops deployed here and abroad.  We wrote, produced and distributed a TV PSA entitled “Dedication” showing the important work and sacrifices made by our armed forces.  You can see the spot by going to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSIE8EteSvQ

Key Scenes from "Dedication" TV PSA

Vet Life Communities/Operation Not Forgotten

We cannot fully explain the very serious problems our veterans are experiencing as they transition back to civilian life, or continue their military careers, but in a few words, many of them are deeply troubled. The sidebar provides just a partial picture of how veterans and their families are faring in tough economy.

In response to the needs of these courageous men and women, Goodwill Communications is providing pro-bono consulting services to Life Renewed International, a non- profit organization, whose mission is to serve active military personnel, veterans and their families.  Specifically, we have distributed their TV PSA twice via our CablePAK distribution service, a value of $16,000; we are helping them create and distribute an out-of-home poster campaign; and we are providing ongoing communications consulting services to them. For more information, go to: www.operationnotforgotten.com an.

Toys for Tots

How can you beat the combination of the Marine Corps and needy children as a cause to support?  To ensure that all needy children get at least one toy, we joined forces with the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Foundation  to distribute one of their PSAs on a pro-bono basis via our CablePAK distribution program.  To view their PSA, go to the widget at www.psaresearch.com and select the PSA titled “Guard Duty.”

The American Legion

We provided pro-bono consulting services to one of the largest veteran support organizations in the country – The American Legion.  First, our principal made a presentation titled: “Building a Brand Image for the American Legion” to the Legion’s Public Relations Commission, outlining the steps the Legion should take to expand public awareness of their organization. Additionally we wrote an article titled: “How to Place PSAs in Your Community” that was published in the Legion’s PR Handbook which was distributed to 14,000 of their local posts throughout the country.

Using Our Media Assets to Support Veterans

Whenever possible we use our media properties, such as our CablePAK distribution program to support our veterans by producing special packages to honor the service of those in our armed forces.

Creating a Blood Bank in Panama

In the country of Panama, if you get in an accident where there is significant loss of blood, the patient has to get their family or someone with the same blood type to come to the hospital to donate blood. If that does not happen, the patient most often dies, because there is no blood bank from which blood can be withdrawn. Obviously this is a horrible situation, particularly for those patients who do not have relatives, or for some reason, those relatives cannot be located. Perhaps worse, typically tainted blood and medical waste is buried in landfills where infected blood or waste can leach into the water aquifers. If that happens, it can lead to a medical disaster.

In 2011, Goodwill Communications was asked to join a team orchestrated by AST Panama to begin the long, arduous process of building a blood network for Panama. Our CEO, Bill Goodwill, was asked to come to Panama to meet the three company partners and plot our business plan. The first step was to educate the decision-makers in Panama about why they needed a blood bank and the advantages of having one. In that process, we met with business people, legislators who supported the initiative, prospective marketing partners, and we held a press conference to build consumer demand for a blood network modeled after the American Red Cross.

Our team included: Tom Steirs, CEO of AST Panama, Dr. Ira Salkin, a noted specialist in the treatment of medical waste, Jane Norris, whose expertise is in establishing blood centers, Bill Goodwill who would handle all marketing aspects of the program, Arnulfo Arias, a prominent attorney in Panama who has excellent legislative contacts, and several legislators who supported our program. The key event was the press conference, which presented several challenges. First, we had to provide simultaneous translation from English to Spanish. Secondly, Dr. Salkin could not be with us in person, so we arranged his presentation to be delivered by Skype. Finally, the politics of Panama are such that you never know who is “in,” and who is “out,” from one day to the other, meaning the people we lobbied may not be the final decision-makers in the future.

While we have been working our program slowly through the political approval process, this could be the biggest and most important effort our company has ever been involved with and if it comes to fruition, we will be able to see first hand the fruits of our labor. To see a presentation made by Bill Goodwill, as well as those of our team mates, go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaEpLcOdjgg

The AngelCare Haiti TV PSA Campaign

Perhaps the most gratifying effort in which we have been involved in is a pro-bono TV PSA campaign we launched to help the children of Haiti. As we all know, a disastrous earthquake turned their world upside down in mid-January of 2010.  We not only provided our distribution services free of charge; we asked all our suppliers to do the same – those who design and print the collateral materials, duplicate the tapes sent to media, create websites, etc.

Following are some of the components of the campaign, which had a total value of $50,000 if you were a paying client.

• Helped them develop a stronger brand image by re-designing their website, their logo and the creation of a banner ad.

• Designed and printed various collateral materials to accompany the  TV PSA packages sent to stations which includes a four-color storyboard and a four-color crack and peel label.

• Designed and printed a four-color newsletter which was sent to 700 broadcast TV public service directors and to nearly 2,000 non-profit executives, government agencies, as well as advertising and public relations agencies.

• Created a banner ad which other supporting non-profits could place on their websites.

Supporting Organizations:

August Lang & Husak – redesigning the AngelCare logo
Ambertone Press – printing labels and the Broadcasters Café Newsletter
ClickForHelp.com – designing a PSA banner ad and AngelCare website
Elaine Hedge Graphic Design – designing the newsletter and TV dub box label
Goodwill Communications, Inc. – Writing the newsletter; PSA distribution and evaluation
Video Labs Corp. – replicating, packaging and mailing the TV PSAs
VMS, Inc. – designing and printing TV storyboards

The "Don't Go There" TV PSA Campaign

The number of fatalities in teenage drunk-driving crashes has declined 34 percent since 2000 and is down 73 percent since tracking began in 1982, going from 4,214 in 1982 to 1,720 in 2000 and 1,130 in 2008, a record-low level.

That’s the good news. However, since when should we be satisfied with the fact that over 1,130 young people with their whole lives ahead of them die annually from something that could be prevented? The principal of Goodwill Communications has been involved with anti-drunk driving efforts for many years, and to our company, it is a very important issue. Working with a talented film-maker, Hugo Reiner,we distributed a PSA campaign to alert young people against drinking and driving called “Don’t Go There,” via our CablePAK distribution service. This is a message that everyone should heed, not just youngsters: If you drink and drive, eventually disaster is going to knock on your door.