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Goodwill to expand VR thanks to $25,000 MRHD grant

A group of Goodwill employees, including (from L to R) Jeff Johnson, Mitchell Kulawik and Vilay Keokenchanh, hold a large novelty check for $25,000, awarded by Missouri River Historical Development (MRHD) to Goodwill of the Great Plains during a ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 23rd inside Encore Hall at Sioux City's Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

MRHD grant will help underserved youth

Goodwill of the Great Plains will soon be leasing several Transfr VR Goggle headsets and the software needed to run them, thanks to a generous grant from Missouri River Historical Development (MRHD).

Goodwill was awarded a $25,000 MRHD Impact Match Grant, one of nine given out during a ceremony on Thursday morning, Oct. 23rd, inside Sioux City’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

This virtual reality technology creates immersive career exploration opportunities for underserved youth, allowing them to experience in-depth job simulations for high-demand careers.

The money will also help purchase 8 laptops, 6 iPads and a scanner; Goodwill will provide $6,399 toward the purchase.

A total of $1.25 million in grants were given out during the ceremony, ranging from $25,000 – $250.000.

MRHD has invested more than $58 million into Woodbury Co. and surrounding areas since 1994.

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What You’ll Learn:

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Program Details:

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Who Should Join?

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You can now get Digital Career Accelerator training at no cost to you. Fill out this form to get started: www.goodwillgreatplains.org/dca/

    Goodwill donates one million plastic bags for Nebraska’s first plastic asphalt road

    A group of construction workers look at the new plastic-bag asphalt being poured on Foundry Rd. in South Sioux City, Nebraska on June 11th, 2025.

    Goodwill plastic bags used in Foundry Road paving project

    The state of Nebraska now has its first plastic asphalt road and Goodwill of the Great Plains donated one million plastic bags to make that happen.

    Paving was started on Foundry Road, near the Siouxland Freedom Park in South Sioux City, Nebraska, on Wednesday, June 11th.

    Tami Koenigs, Sustainability Manager at Goodwill of the Great Plains, speaks to an assembled crowd during a ceremony to commemorate the new plastic-bag asphalt road being poured on Foundry Rd. in South Sioux City, Nebraska on June 11th, 2025.

    The 4,000-foot-long stretch of road has a base of six inches of regular asphalt, topped by three inches of the plastic bag asphalt mixture.

    This not only keeps the bags out of the landfill, but the plastic asphalt road is expected to last longer and develop fewer potholes over time; this plastic asphalt mixture will also be used on bike paths in the area.

    More than one billion tons of plastic bags are produced worldwide every year.

    The Foundry Road project used approximately two million plastic bags; First Star Recycling also donated roughly one million plastic bags to the project.

    Goodwill of the Great Plains has a vision of being a leader in environmental sustainability and plastic isn’t the only thing we recycle!

    To find out more about our ongoing sustainability efforts, please visit https://www.goodwillgreatplains.org/sustainability