UHealth Receives Award for Being First to Use Goodwill’s Laundry Service

The University of Miami Health System has received a “special recognition” award from Goodwill of South Florida for being the first organization to enter an agreement to use Goodwill’s commercial laundry service – even before the service was established, nearly six years ago.

From left, Goodwill board member Edward Manno Shumsky, Stephen Demers and Ron Bogue of UHealth, and David Landsberg, CEO of Goodwill.
From left, Goodwill board member Edward Manno Shumsky, Stephen Demers and Ron Bogue of UHealth, and David Landsberg, CEO of Goodwill.

At its annual breakfast on Thursday, Goodwill thanked “an organization who believed in us and helped us launch a new business division that provided opportunities to serve often-marginalized populations.”

Ron Bogue, UHealth’s assistant vice president for facilities and operations, said the Goodwill employees, all of whom have disabilities, have done an excellent job, handling more than 18 million pounds of linen over the years.

“This was a big thank you to us for believing in them when they hadn’t yet gotten off the ground,” said Bogue, who accepted the award along with Stephen Demers, vice president and chief operating officer of UHealth.

Goodwill considers UHealth its “founding partner” in the commercial laundry service. The health system has generated full-time employment for about 80 people, and the contract was recently renewed. “Their pitch to us was that these people come to work because they are very happy to have a job for the first time in their lives,” Bogue said. “They have been very reliable.”

Goodwill has had success throughout Miami-Dade County with other environmental services accounts, Bogue said, and UM was proud to be the first in laundry. Goodwill said in the announcement of the award, “As a symbol of our appreciation for their support of our mission, we take great pride in presenting this award to our founding partner, the University of Miami Health System.”


Tags: Goodwill, Ron Bogue, Stephen Demers, University of Miami Health System