Bridging The Gaps: Training & Placement Program

          Goodwill Industries of Ashtabula, Inc. is working with The National Retail Federation Foundation (NRFF) and The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRA) in cooperation with Area Industries, The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), Ashtabula County Health Department (ACHD), Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD), The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), and local employers; to developed professional training programs designed to move persons with disabilities and other challenges toward self-sufficient living.

          The “Bridging the Gaps” Training and Placement Program is designed to prepare individuals with disabilities and other challenges to fill on-going employment needs in Ohio and Pennsylvania. “Gaps” in the employment industry are where vacancies are high according to the ODJFS and the Bureau of Labor Market Information; where applicants may secure employment to earn a living wage with advancement potential. “Bridging the Gaps” is not only designed to fill the areas of need in the workforce, but also to provide a connection or a “bridge” that facilitates attitudinal and behavioral changes within the consumer. This is achieved through a process of “habilitation” rather than “rehabilitation” (Sims, 1989). That being said, “Bridging the Gaps” recognizes different approaches to learning transmission, acquisition, accretion, and emergence, and emphasizes that change itself is influenced by biological, psychological, sociological and spiritual variables. The capacity that each individual brings to the learning/change process is affected by these variables. At the same time, these models recognize that although the participant is ultimately responsible for change and learning, that responsibility is shared with the trainer through the development of a therapeutic training environment. Over the past fifteen years, considerable research has focused on ways to better motivate participants with various challenges. A series of motivational approaches has been developed to elicit and enhance motivation to learn and change. They seek to shift control away from the trainer and back to the participant empowering them. They emphasize treating participants as valuable productive individuals. They also recognize that gaining the mastery over ingrained challenges may be a cyclical rather than a linear process; and in addition that recurrence of issues does not necessarily indicate failure (SAMHSA, 2013).

          “Bridging the Gaps” affords each participant the opportunity to achieve a nationally recognized certification from either the NRFF in: Customer Service, Advanced Customer Service, Retail and/or Retail Management or a nationally recognized certification from the NRA as a: ServSafe, Safe Food Handler or Food Protection Manager. 

A Year Of Workforce Development

          In 2016, Goodwill Industries of Ashtabula, Inc. (Serving Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania) took large strides in expanding Workforce Development programs and other services in the territories served. Having started this year with a youth program in Lake County, Job Development, Work Adjustment, EDS, and the PRIDE programs in Ashtabula County, we are now proudly offering two new programs while serving double the amount of individuals in these counties. With this growth, we have welcomed seven new talented Workforce Development staff to our core team, including:

Jewel Chappell: Job Coach & Developer

Lisa Friend: Case Manager

Andre Lyons: Job Coach & Developer

Matthew McCray: Mission Services Developer

Mary Murray: Workforce Development Specialist

Hanni Nazario: Workforce Development Program Manager

Willie Sims: Curriculum Developer

Rosemary Torok: Workforce Development Program Manager

          Also new this year, are five programs serving Erie, Pennsylvania, and four industry certificate training programs for in-demand jobs. We are positioning our Workforce Development department to partner with area industry employers in an effort to help with the growing numbers of unfulfilled job positions and individuals in need. Our Workforce Development division has been an integral part of these performance metrics, including increasing evidence based practices, and leveraging multiple funding sources to meet these demands. We understand the power of work in helping with recovery, recidivism, economic development, and community engagement.

          Expansion will continue in 2017, as we continue to implement strategic planning in all our territories, and help build a stronger workforce in the communities we serve. Goodwill Industries of Ashtabula, Inc. (Serving Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania) is committed to supporting individuals with barriers to employment and achieving self-sufficiency. We thank our funders for their shared commitment to Workforce Development in the communities we serve. 

Goodwill Adds Sixth Retail Store Plus Donation Center

Goodwill Industries of Ashtabula, Inc. (Serving Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania) has the vision to be recognized as the leader providing vocational services in the territories of which we serve. Among that vision, comes the need to expand business initiatives of donated goods retail to fund and support the vocational services we provide and strive to have stand out. With these motives in mind, Goodwill Industries has been enthusiastically planning to introduce a brand new retail store and attended donation center in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania, and now the time of it’s unveiling is right around the corner!

The new location will be located at 1980 Nagle Road, directly behind Walgreens on Buffalo Road. Prior to becoming a Goodwill, the location was previously known for being Martin's Country Clean & Self Serve Carwash, succeeded by Direct Bedding and Furniture. The past businesses that once thrived in this location, allow Goodwill to operate with a unique layout, as the past 1,700 ft2 laundromat and furniture store will now serve as a donated goods retail store and the two-door automatic carwash bay will serve as a drive-through attended donation center, adding a convenience feature for the individual who donates throughout the winter months.

The addition of this Harborcreek retail store will constitute as the sixth official retail site under the territorial domain of Goodwill Industries of Ashtabula, Inc. (Serving Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania); and the ninth site in general, when one includes the attended donation centers and job training centers we have in Perry, Ohio, Conneaut Ohio, and Painesville, Ohio respectively.

As for now, the primary focus is on building the layout of the store, stocking the shelves, staffing the store, and training the staff. It is within our expectations to have both the new store and attended donation center completed and operating before the winter months come to a close. 

Goodwill & Girl Scouts: The Dynamic Duo

Goodwill Industries serving Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania has consecutively teamed up with the Girl Scouts to do a “good turn” for the community for many years now, by donating gently used clothing and household items for the annual Good Turn Day drive. The goods collected from the Girl Scouts are processed and then sold at our Goodwill retail stores to fund Goodwill’s job training programs for people with disabilities or barriers to employment. The Good Turn Day collaborative service project has offered Girl Scouts the opportunity to make a positive impact in their community. It is a long-standing opportunity for Girl Scouts to assist Goodwill Industries in the fulfillment of our mission; “Building self-sufficiency through the power of work”, and by collecting and distributing donation bags throughout local communities.

 Goodwill is very pleased to partner with Girl Scouts to inspire and encourage from a young age. Many of the organizational values of the Girl Scouts and Goodwill are nicely aligned: a commitment to community and a dedication to helping others. The Girl Scouts have donated time in our stores organizing merchandise and have also donated items that have exemplified our Goodwill supporters, shoppers and donors; they see the value of giving unwanted items new life and helping to lift up others, all while building confidence in their own ability to change lives.

Good Turn Day 2016 resulted in 33 Girl Scout participants and over 100 donation bags!  Every Girl Scout that participated in Good Turn Day earned a Good Turn for Goodwill patch and a personal thank you letter from our CEO, Eric Schwarz, expressing our appreciation of how their donations help support Goodwill`s mission, and individuals in need, right in their own community.

Project YES! Official Kick-off in Corry, Pennsylvania

          Goodwill of NE Ohio and NW Pennsylvania has expanded its workforce development services to Erie County with Project YES, a Pre-Employment Transition Services (PETS) program offered in partnership with Pennsylvania’s Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR). This program is designed to promote independent living, self-advocacy, and workplace readiness skills to youth with disabilities and other barriers to employment. Project YES teaches these skills through classroom instruction, job shadowing, and work-based learning.

          Project YES is implemented under the leadership of Director of Mission Services Matthew McCray, and Workforce Development Program Manager, Hanni Nazario. Matthew brings to Project YES several years of experience in vocational assessment and job coaching, having spearheaded similar programming through Goodwill in Pittsburgh, PA. Hanni brings to the program her expertise in curriculum development and classroom instruction, having worked for many years in Erie area schools.

          Goodwill staff, including CEO Eric Schwarz and Workforce Development Director Sandi Allison, joined Matthew and Hanni in launching Project YES’s partnership with the Corry Area School District on November 3rd. This night marked the official kick off of services in Corry, with an open house for students and parents who will participate in the program. This is the first service of its kind being offered in the Corry Area School District, and has attracted the attention of the entire Corry community. The event was covered by local news outlets, including a front page story in the Corry newspaper and the lead story on that night’s Erie TV news. Many Corry parents expressed excitement and hope for the success of their students, who will now be able to enter the workforce armed with the skills needed for success.

          Goodwill plans to expand Project YES to several other schools in Erie County over the coming year. Both Matthew and Hanni look forward to this unprecedented opportunity to empower students to better their own communities though the power of work.

The Importance of Donations: Second Hand to Second Chances

          Think of the biggest companies you can.  Off the top of your head, you might name several fortune 500 companies.  Sometimes people think of “Goodwill” as a massive conglomerate the likes of Coca-Cola, Alcoa, and 3M.  When people think of Goodwill, they often think of it as a monolithic entity with a centralized office and satellite locations.  The reality could not be further removed from this perception. Goodwill is actually comprised of 164 member organizations that each operate independently. Each Goodwill operates under the Goodwill name, but is fully responsible for obtaining and securing funding in their respective local area of responsibility.  That funding is the lifeblood of what we do here.

          The mission of Goodwill has always been to provide services to the community utilizing the funding we receive.  This funding comes from a variety of sources such as grants, endowments, state and federal funds and most importantly, donations.  Donations are the main thing driving what we do here at Goodwill and they are the main reason we are able to provide services to the community.  In many ways, none of what we do is possible without you.  That old sweater that didn’t fit anymore?  That helped pay for a job training program that helped four individuals with Autism get job training and work readiness skills.  That couch you kept in your garage and hadn’t sat on for 10 years?  That helped pay for someone to fulfill their dream of getting their GED.  Those golf clubs you bought and used once because you totally swore you were going to play 18 holes every week with your buddies from college?  That helped pay for someone who had been out of work for two years to get the training they needed to re-enter the workforce.  Your donations help us provide services to those in need.

          It’s not just your donation of used goods that assists us in our mission. Goodwill also relies on private cash donations as well as monetary donations from various community organizations and donors in order to provide services to the community.  Even with all the proceeds from donation and public funding, there is a limit to what services can be provided.  These funds, when augmented with cash donations, give us the tools that we need to provide comprehensive services to the community.  It is Goodwill’s mission to provide a hand up to those in need in the community and without donations, none of it would be possible.  

From the Desk of the CEO: Meet the Board

          This month, I would like to dedicate this column to recognizing the faces behind the strength and stability of your local Goodwill by saying Thank You! to our Board of Trustees for their selfless service in 2016, a year that has proven to be one of improved performance on all fronts. Our Board assists in our professional guidance and visioning and ultimately has responsibility for the culture and stability of what Goodwill means to our community.

Kathryn Banks: A school psychologist with the Boardman Local Schools and Director of Music at Christ Church Presbyterian.

Jeffery Brodsky: Retired Orthopedic Surgeon

Mike Brown: Owner of Amerisearch Background Alliance

David Flautt: Financial Advisor at Edward Jones

Bernadette Hattjar: An Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at Gannon University, tenured Associate Professor and a published author.

Bill Hyland: Owner of Outdoor Army Navy

Jeff Lampson: Owner of Gazette Newspapers and Accounting Department Director of Finance at Community Care Ambulance

Chris Oleski: Store Manager at OfficeMax

Craig Sernik: Director of a Council of Governments

David Spotts: Maritime Lawyer at David M. Spotts J.D.

Steve Vennare: Vice President of Commercial Banking at Andover Bank

Ron Wilkinson: Owner of Wilkinson Paving & Excavating, Inc.