Goodwill of Ashtabula Expands into HarborCreek, PA: By President/CEO Eric Schwarz

          Yet another milestone was reached July 14th, when a new site was secured in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania. There, we have plans for a new attended donation collection center and a retail store. The site will serve as our entry into what demographic modelling suggests, is a solid community experiencing steady growth. We will be situated at the intersection of Nagle and Buffalo Road (RT.20) which is the intersection with the highest traffic counts in the community.  It is about one mile from the Penn State Behrend campus. Presently, we have determined this store will be branded as a boutique for which the product mix is being developed. A fair amount of buildout will be underway in the next 60 days. It’s likely that we will add four to six jobs there, once again, growing strength in our Goodwill family. My hope is that we can open the Attended Donation Center in 30 days, and the retail store in 60 days. Stay tuned as we start to work on this new and exciting project. 

The Steps: An Essay: By Harry Corbissero

          Adjacent our Goodwill in Ashtabula Harbor there is rather a steep bank of steps, near the illustrious lift bridge, that lead up to Lookout Point.  These steps have been newly made, but their basic tiering had been there even when I first came to Goodwill quite a few years ago, having been hired to work in an instructional capacity.  I would periodically take class groups on a field trip outing to “walk the steps”—a useful aid in the natural environment to illustrate the premise being taught: namely, how to take “one step at a time to make it to the top,” or—in more formal language—to attain a goal.

          I remember one person in particular with whom I conducted this exercise some 20 years ago, who had difficulty ambulating due to a traumatic brain injury (TBI, for short).  He sort of walked with a shuffle in halting steps.  He was a participant in this group outing.

          I remember he had been very hesitant while still at the base of the steps.  Admittedly, the path to the top really did seem quite overwhelming from that vantage point.   

          Now, to arrive at the crux of my story: He was willing to try.  I took his arm and advised him to focus on one step at a time, just doing the best he could, not particularly worrying about the classmates in advance of us.

          I remember his first few steps were halting and fearful, until he gained a sense of his footing.  Then his stride became more confident.  Arm-in-arm, he made slow by steady progress, up to about the half-way point.

          We paused there, and I encouraged him to look behind him, to see how far he had come.  This was a fateful moment, because then I asked him, “Do you want to go back down, or continue to move upward?” Even a person with a brain injury could understand the wisdom of his choice, to want to continue the ascent, much easier now with so much of it already accomplished.

          If there is a moral to this story with a universal application it is this: The only way for any of us to make it to the zenith of our personal ambitions is one step at a time—and, in actuality, that first step is often the most difficult.

          We have our entire lifetime to get there, as we choose to keep going.  A person can do this at any age, with or without a TBI.

A Closer Look At Job Development: By Megan Myers

          When I tell people I work at Goodwill, they always seem to assume that I work in the store. After I tell people that I work “upstairs” as an Employment Case Manager, they seem shocked. I usually get the typical, “Oh wow, I didn’t know Goodwill did that!” This gives me the opportunity to tell people all about the “upstairs Goodwill people.”

          So what exactly do we do upstairs? Well, of course there are staff on the so-called business side of things, however, interlocking with their side of business is the Rehabilitation side. The Rehab Department consists of a Program Director, Program Managers, a Case Manager, and several other positions.

          The most common programs we provide consist of PRIDE (Personal Responsibility in Developing Employment), Job Development/Placement, Work Adjustment, and Ready to Work, which is formerly known as Lake County Youth. My position consists of working with the PRIDE program and Job Development services.

          You may be wondering what Job Development is. Job Development provides employment services to consumers with disabilities. These disabilities can be physical, mental, emotional, or a combination of any. Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) refers their consumers to us so we can provide them with the skills necessary to obtain employment.

          When a consumer comes in needing our services, I can provide a variety of things to them. A big part in helping them is job searching. Whether a consumer needs me to help them fill out an entire application, or just needs assistance with something small, I’m there to help.

          I also aid the consumers in obtaining interview skills, job searching skills, resume building skills, and skills on how to maintain employment. These are taught to them on a weekly basis, until they are able to find a job in their chosen field.

          So far this year, Job Development services have helped many  people find employment. Without Goodwill, employment may not have even been possible for these people. Goodwill has helped me find my true calling by being able to help others achieve their goals.

          To obtain Job Development Services, please contact your nearest Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation facility or your local Goodwill for more information.

There Are No Little Cogs: By Chloe Quinn & Harry Corbissero

          The whole of any organization is always greater than the sum of its parts.  This is a principle of synergy, but only true if each part is functioning in an optimal manner.

          This is an indirect lead-in to heap praise upon two men who do this very thing- work optimally- in their key roles here, without whose help the entire organization would flounder.  We are, of course, referring to truck drivers Dan Partridge and Dennis Sanders. Collectively, these men log an average of a thousand miles a week facilitating home pick-ups as well as the distribution of donated goods among our family of stores.  To put it mildly, these  members of the Goodwill family are “kept hopping,” and are experts in time management and organizational skills, among their many redeeming attributes.

          Dan, for example, knows about the work ethic coming from a farming background during his upbringing.  He brings the same dedication to his work here that was instilled in him long ago from that early discipline, and has done so on a sustained basis since he was hired back on June 22, 2011. Dan was also Goodwill’s Achiever of the Year in 2012, and has continued to maintain an unfailing loyalty to the organization ever since.

          Dennis, who looks wiry but who actually matches Dan in physical strength, is a more recent addition to our crew as of August 14, 2013.  He also equals Dan in his dedication and disciplined approach to work, utilizing talents gleaned from a background working as a certified mechanic/technician in the automotive industry.

          Among his other responsibilities here, Dennis also helps maintain inventory, restock and manage shipping in three storage areas we utilize outside Goodwill proper.  This is a big job itself involving a lot of intricate juggling of merchandise.

          Another interesting facet of Dennis’s work life, lies in dealing with daily house calls, which consist of driving a truck to someone’s house to assist in clearing out items meant for Goodwill. He also claims that he can be, “Real fussy when it comes to furniture…it costs megabucks to dump the furniture at Goodwill that we can’t use.”  Dennis not only takes time to do an excellent job of moving furniture and housewares, he is also tremendously thoughtful about the time he spends with each customer, making sure to give them the attention and care they deserve.

          Dennis is very sensitive to his customer’s needs. “Many of the people can be pretty darn lonely. If they have a problem they want to discuss, I give them my time, I listen.  A lot of people have helped me since I lost my father on June 25, 2015.  I want to communicate, and share with them that I understand.”

          He goes on to add, “Truthfully, I like the transportation department whether we’re on the road or not.  I like to meet new friends and communicate with people. I want to see how I can help them, because in return, they’re going to give me the tools to help me.”

          These ideas constitute the embodiment of a few of our core values here at Goodwill: to lift people and strengthen communities.  Dennis and Dan work hard every day to see that things run smoothly at our facility, and often do so with no recognition or kudos.  It takes all the cogs working together for the wheels of any organization to go around, but the specific wheels Dan and Dennis operate so efficiently are obviously of prime importance in steering our Goodwill in a productively uplifting direction.

Working to Develop Others: By Willie Sims

          Most of us have a reason that moves us to work in service-oriented professions. That is no less true for our new Curriculum Developer Willie Sims. If you were to ask him what his motivation is, he’d say, “I’m a PTSD survivor.” Yes, he is a veteran. Yes, he was injured during a recon mission, but that’s not what he means. Willie discovered his father dying when he was eight, and as the fourth of five sons, he had to grow up from that day forward and care for household responsibilities, while his mother and three older brothers worked.

          Willie and Goodwill Industries have had a long history. At age 15, he was the master of ceremonies for Urban Youth Action, Inc. held in the Gold Room of Goodwill on Pittsburgh’s South-side. He attended Grove City College every summer from 1970-1972 during High School, and CCAC for Architecture in 1974 & 1975. Post Military Service, in 1980, he graduated with a Fit Fitness Certification, worked the Jesse Owens games and the Special Olympics annually, and gave the City of Pittsburgh’s its first Bodybuilding Contest.

           From 1990 onward, Willie has worked in the field of Human Services. From 1991 through 2009 he worked for the District Attorney of Allegheny County in DUI & Drug Court, as the Director of the Act 152 Project at the Housing Authority City of Pittsburgh, as the Self-Sufficiency Program Manager and also with Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic.  He is a Professional Trainer for the PA Department of Health as a PA Client Placement Criteria Trainer and a Competency-Based Trainer for the Child Welfare League of America.

           In 1996, he completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Behavioral Sciences and Industrial Social Work and a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology. He is licensed as a Chemical Dependency Counselor in both Ohio and Pennsylvania.

          The irony of all of these seemingly glowing accomplishments has been plagued by the ramifications of the severe abuse he suffered from his father from ages four through seven, culminating in the discovery mentioned at the outset of this article. In Mr. Sims’ own words, “The cancer that I battled for the past ten years cannot compare with the torment experienced by a child who forever wonders, “What was wrong with me? Why didn’t my father (parent) love me?”

           Extending ourselves to assist others with feelings of worthlessness, to develop self-esteem, worth, value and skills that raise their level of self-sufficiency, is a work Willie lives for and accepts whole-heartedly. This is what he hopes to accomplish here at Goodwill.

Goodwill Industries Doubles Its Funding to Serve Lake County Youth: By Sandi Allison

          Effective July 1, 2016, Goodwill Industries was awarded a substantial increase in funding for the Lake County Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program (CCMEP), named the "Goodwill Ready to Work Program.” The program is a coordinated approach that addresses factors contributing to poverty and unemployment for youth ages 16 to 24 years old. The Goodwill Ready To Work program offers a menu of work related activities and classes that will sharpen employment skills, link youth to employers, and increase opportunities to practice and apply positive work activities and behaviors. A key factor in this programming is utilizing holistic case management services to address barriers to employment and self-sufficiency.

          The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an average of 13.3% Ohio youth unemployment in 2012 and statistics further indicate that employment levels for youth have been declining much faster than adults age 25 and up. Developing positive work behaviors through career counseling, job placement, and skills to facilitate job retention is not something naturally developed for youth. Some of them do not have work experience or struggle with barriers that stand in the way of gaining and maintaining unsubsidized employment. This program helps to intensively support the participant in developing these skills by mapping out a career ladder and ultimately aiding them in retaining employment that will lead to adult self-sufficiency.

          Goodwill’s tradition of giving a “hand-up” has been practiced for years in our youth Workforce Development programs. The old proverb, “give a (young) man/woman a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a (young) man/woman to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” is something the Goodwill Team practices every day, which supports the participants, employers, and communities we serve.