About Goodwill Omaha
Goodwill Omaha has served the Omaha metro for over 90 years, selling gently used donated items at its 15+ retail stores across the city. Goodwill also uses its retail revenue to fund job training, career advancement and workforce readiness programs. The new South Omaha Training Center is designed to break down financial and accessibility barriers to career growth for underserved community members.
The Challenge
The opening of the South Omaha Training Center represented a significant investment in an area where 42,000 people live at or below the poverty line and where only 74% of students graduate high school. Yet awareness of Goodwill’s mission often stopped at its retail stores. Lukas Partners needed to bridge that perception gap so the training center would receive the visibility it deserved, setting it up to serve the community successfully.
The Big Idea
We saw the South Omaha Training Center’s opening as an opportunity to highlight the power of economic mobility and community investment. By developing a public relations plan anchored around the ribbon-cutting ceremony, we could transform the grand opening from a single story into a community news event — sparking a broader conversation about opportunity for working families and raising awareness of the free programming offered by the training center.
Our Approach
Lukas Partners worked closely with Goodwill Omaha’s marketing team to develop and execute a multifaceted PR plan for the training center’s ribbon-cutting event. The campaign was intentionally designed to build credibility, generate meaningful coverage and engage the community.
Event Planning & Execution
We helped Goodwill Omaha create a media-friendly event that encouraged multiple journalists to attend and tell their own human-interest stories, rather than relying on a single media outlet or exclusive pitch. Our team identified key spokespeople, coordinated interviews and made sure journalists had easy access to compelling visuals and story angles. To set the stage for accurate coverage, we produced and distributed a news release outlining the training center’s purpose and community value.
At the ribbon cutting, we captured photos and videos to share with reporters, giving them ready-to-use assets for their coverage. We also supported on-site interviews and made sure the media had what they needed for clear, consistent storytelling.
Integrated Communications
To amplify earned media, we aligned messaging across Goodwill Omaha’s website and social channels. Coordinated posts helped boost visibility and reminded the community that the new center exists because of their donations — reinforcing the connection between giving, shopping and community impact.
Media Relations
Our team targeted reporters who had covered workforce development, education and neighborhood-focused stories, including journalists who had previously reported on similar community or workforce topics. We sent personalized pitches inviting them to tour the facility and meet the team behind the project.
After the event, we kept the momentum going with follow-up outreach and lined up radio interviews for Goodwill Omaha’s CEO, Tobi Mathouser, to expand reach across new audiences.
Continued Community Outreach
To sustain buzz beyond opening day, Lukas Partners helped promote a follow-up community celebration held four days after the ribbon-cutting event. We produced and distributed a media advisory inviting additional coverage and encouraging public attendance at a family-friendly event featuring food, face-painting, music and prize giveaways.
We also expanded the event-day multimedia into a library of photos and video clips for ongoing media use, giving Goodwill Omaha a steady supply of visuals to support continued storytelling about the training center’s mission and long-term community impact.
The Results
The PR campaign earned coverage from all four of Omaha’s major TV news outlets, with one story syndicated by Yahoo! News.
Promote Your Community Initiative with Our PR Experts
Whether you need help hosting an event, managing social media or training media spokespeople, Lukas Partners’ PR strategies can help you share your story and drive meaningful results. Contact us today for award-winning public relations!
