Irving Middleton

Palmetto Goodwill Services

Irving Middleton is nominated for the Tom Miller Advocacy Award. At age 16, Middleton was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which later led to kidney failure and eventual transplant, vision loss, and a leg amputation below the knee. Today, he serves as a custodian for Palmetto Goodwill Services at the Naval Information Warfare Center in Charleston, South Carolina. Middleton is passionate about advocating for people with disabilities and shares his story of success through the AbilityOne Program on local, state, and national levels. He is the newest member of Palmetto Goodwill’s Grassroots Advocacy program, speaking with South Carolina Congressional members in Washington, D.C. He also attended a National Federation of the Blind Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C. to advocate for the rights of people who are blind and visually impaired. In 2023, Middleton co-founded The Blind Titans, a support group raising awareness for disabilities such as blindness, diabetes, kidney failure, amputations, mental health, and paraplegia.