Goodwill Industries: There’s more behind the store for job seekers

Millions of Americans are addicted to drugs, but Nancy’s success story is a special one.

“I was addicted to meth for over 25 years but I woke up one morning and decided that enough was enough, I would never touch the drug ever again,” she said.

Nancy woke up one morning with the determination to get her life turned around and went to her local Goodwill for help. Despite her past, she was offered a position with the team and was given the skills she needed to change her life for the best.

“The skills that are given to me, I’ll be able to succeed every day that I’m there” she believes.

Goodwill Industries is dedicated to helping individuals in our community find gainful employment. Our Employment Connection Center (ECC), at 3521 W. Court St., Suite B, assists job seekers in finding work in the communities that we serve.

The ECC is a FREE, walk-in job search assistance program which helps job-seekers create resumes, prepare for interviews and provide access to community resources and information. The ECC also provides access to a computer lab, computer tutorials, skills assessments and internet job-search services designed to improve job-seeking skills to help you get that job!

Nancy’s story is a true testimony of the mission of Goodwill Industries in action – “Changing Lives through the Power of Work.” We have enjoyed an almost 50-year relationship with the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas, and truly value the support we receive from these communities.

Generous donations from our local residents fuel our store sales, which in turn pay for the free services available to anyone that visits our Employment Connection Center. In 2017, our Mission Services team served almost 4,000 people and helped place 552 people into jobs.

Our goal in 2018 is to help even more individuals remove barriers and find work in the New Year, and we look forward to the challenge of accomplishing this goal.

Another exciting project is the expansion of our Mobile ECC, which provides our programs to smaller communities across the region. By partnering with local libraries, we offer many of the same employment services as in the Tri-Cities.

These free services include walk-in job search assistance, resume creation, interview preparation, and access to community resources and information. The Mobile ECC also provides access to a computer lab, computer tutorials, skills assessments, and internet job search devices.

Here’s the Mobile Employment Connection Schedule:

Goodwill Industries looks forward to 2018 and the exciting opportunities the New Year brings. We are thankful for the generous and supportive communities in which we operate.

Our mission is as strong as ever, and we are excited about being a part of more success stories like Nancy’s. Her feelings about Goodwill Industries are strong, when she says, “I owe everything to Goodwill.”

Now you, too, can see why...“There’s more behind the store.”

This story was originally published April 1, 2018 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Goodwill Industries: There’s more behind the store for job seekers."