Goodwill of North Georgia Achieves Milestone in People Placed
connect 100,000 North Georgians to jobs was announced as a strategic objective in Goodwill’s five- year plan, many people didn’t believe it was possible,” said Keith Parker, president and CEO of Goodwill of North Georgia. “I am so proud of the hard work our team put into making the goal a reality. Especially in a time when unemployment rates have reached historic lows, Goodwill staff have worked even harder to connect people with some of the most significant barriers to employment opportunities. This is a huge accomplishment, and I look forward to the new strides we will make in the next five years.”
Driven by the needs of the thousands of job seekers who look to Goodwill for skills training and job preparation assistance, the nonprofit’s goal was intentionally ambitious. As the organization prepares for its next chapter of job readiness and employment services, Goodwill commemorated the completion of its job placement goal by recognizing the 100,000th person who found work as a result of its services. Gwendolyn Harris of Marietta, Ga., received a work- readiness prize package worth $ 1,000.00.
Harris sought computer training at Goodwill when she realized her lack of computer skills was preventing her from growing within her organization. In order to qualify for a higherlevel position, she knew she needed to increase her competency with computers. Harris enrolled in computer literacy workshops at Goodwill’s Smyrna career center, at no cost to her, and her new skills led to a promotion with a higher wage.
“I moved here from New York and got a job at Hampton Inn. The company changed hands and was letting some people go and several of us were afraid of losing our jobs. I needed more computer skills, specifically Excel, so I went to the Goodwill Career Center to do some research and learn,” said Harris. “The Goodwill career coach talked to me about the Excel Workshop where I was able to learn Excel. At Goodwill, I was able to practice it over and over and over until I got it. Goodwill and my career coach were both very instrumental in allowing me to be able to keep my job and get promoted.”
As the nonprofit plans for the next five years of job readiness and placements services, job seekers can continue to visit any of Goodwill’s 13 career centers across North Georgia along with its virtual career services, available on careerconnector.org. About Goodwill The mission of Goodwill of North Georgia is to put people to work. The nonprofit has provided services in the region for more than 90 years. In fiscal year 2017, Goodwill of North Georgia provided job training and employment services to 52,485 people and helped 24,188 people find jobs or start new businesses. The organization currently operates 60 stores and about 58 attended donation centers. Revenues generated from Goodwill’s retail program help fund job training and placement programs. For more information about Goodwill of North Georgia, visit GoodwillNG.org.