David Latu, an employee at Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida (SWFL), recently won 3 medals in Swimming at the Florida Regional Special Olympics. He won Gold for the 50 meter Breast Stroke, Gold for the 4×50 Meter Freestyle Relay, and Silver for the 50 meter Freestyle. David is just one of the Goodwill SWFL employees that is a Special Olympic athlete.
As the world kicks off the 2024 Paralympic Games, Goodwill SWFL celebrates its own local Olympians like Latu who has been participating in the Special Olympics for the last 22 years. David has been employed at Goodwill SWFL for the past 18 years. He works in the Ecommerce division posting auction items on ShopGoodwill.com.
“My favorite thing about working for Goodwill is typing up the descriptions of items and finding items that were sold,” said Latu. “I came up with the idea of working for Goodwill by myself, actually. 18 years later, I love working here and I think it’s a perfect job match for me.”
“We are so proud of him,” states Ecommerce Manager Leslie Stepper. “We encourage him to keep up the great work and training!”
In his years working for Goodwill SWFL, David has earned an Associate’s Degree in Accounting. When he is not working, he enjoys his hobbies, including swimming, dancing to music, bowling, playing board games, and watching TV game shows.
Goodwill Industries for Southwest Florida Goodwill SWFL is a nonprofit organization that is committed to serving people with disabilities and disadvantages by offering life-changing opportunities to achieve independence. They have been providing services to people with disabilities and disadvantages since 1966 in five counties of Southwest Florida: Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades & Hendry counties.