Longtime Goodwill Volunteer Bequeaths Millions
The Goodwill Foundation of Central & Southern Indiana is the recipient of a major gift from the estate of former longtime volunteer Peggy Miller. Miller was a charter member of the Jack Dustman Society, which recognizes those who make gifts of more than $50,000. Her estate has bequeathed $2.4 million to the foundation.
Miller’s mother, Dr. Maurine Miller, was the first clinical psychologist in the country to work at a Goodwill organization, and for 24 years pioneered vocational rehabilitation programs to help with job training and placement for people with disabilities.
“My mother emphasized that Goodwill gives people a hand up, not a hand out,” Peggy Miller said in a 2007 interview with the Goodwill Foundation. “Goodwill helps people become active participants in society by helping them find jobs.”
The Miller family established a memorial fund upon Dr. Miller’s death in 1970 that provided internships to students interested in vocational rehabilitation careers. Peggy Miller’s gift will ensure the new Miller Family Fund for Success will support education, health and employment programs for several years.