(WSVN) - A dedicated group of people is working hard to sew good and help Army soldiers look their best.
Goodwill employees are making new uniforms right here in South Florida, and the new design is a throwback to the heroes from our past.
The hissing and whirring isn’t just the sound of sewing, it’s a point of pride.
“I feel honored to work for the military, to do their work because I realized they put their lives in danger every day. If I can contribute to serve them and do something for them, I feel it’s a privilege,” said Walter Anderson.
Anderson is one of the 100 employees of Goodwill South Florida helping members of the U.S. military look their best.
The U.S. Army is getting a new dress uniform, and Goodwill is stitching up the gear.
“What the Army wanted to do was really do a throwback from the World War II vintage uniforms, and so, in 2018, they decided that the dress uniform would be the vintage look from World War II soldiers,” said Goodwill’s director of marketing Lourdes de Lamata-Little.
The official name is the Army Green Service Uniform, or AGSU.
“Soldiers look good, they feel good in their uniforms, and our workers feel a strong connection to the work they do to support our soldiers,” said Goodwill vice-president of apparel manufacturing Edward Terris.
For the people putting these uniforms together, this is so much more than just a job or even a patriotic project.
“We focus on hiring people with disabilities and other barriers to employment, and we’re very proud of the fact that we’re able to bring people in who may struggle to get traction in the workforce otherwise, get them over their barriers, so they can be successful here at work,” said Terris.
Anderson’s success putting in eyelets could lead to a small kind of success that might otherwise go unnoticed for the men and women of the U.S. Army.
“In case they’re in the field and the water needs to run out, they’ve got a little hole in their pants for the water to run out their uniform,” Anderson said.
They’ll be making about 1,000 shirts and 300 hats. Goodwill has already made and shipped out uniforms across the U.S. and will continue through the end of the month.
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