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Business & Tech

Goodwill Helping the Unemployed

Doing its part to reduce the ranks of the unemployed, Goodwill lives up to mission.

A year ago, Shonneeka Wright was like lots of other people. Laid off and out of work, she was struggling to find a job.

The Snellville resident had worked at AdvanceMe, Inc. before she had to abruptly brush up on interview skills and dust off her resume. She searched for awhile, and then she found Goodwill of North Georgia.

“I found out about Goodwill Career Center in Duluth from a church member at a Memorial Day cook out,” said Wright, 39, a mother of three. “She told me she had gotten a job by using the Goodwill services. So, I went, and in a month I got this much-needed job here at MedTech.”

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 At MedTech College in Marietta, Ga., she teaches courses in computer basics, medical terminology and career development. She sees some 50-60 students a day, and she indentifies with most. Some are in between jobs, just like she used to be.

 “Before going to the career center and getting this job, if anyone had told me I would be an instructor, I would have laughed,” she said. “I never thought I would be teaching. But, here I am, and I love my job because I get to use nursing training and HR experience.”

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 Last year, Goodwill’s Duluth Career Center put nearly 1,200 people back to work. These job seekers came from all walks of life. Some had advanced degrees, and some had just received GED diplomas. They were of difference ages, and races. They all, however, came to the career center and became success stores.

“Most people know Goodwill because they donate or buy goods from our stores, said Elaine Armstrong, public relations director. “But what they might not know is that every time they donate and buy from us they are helping to put people to work.”

 That’s the mission – to help people find work and then reach their fullest potential doing so. Goodwill of North Georgia covers 45 counties with career centers in Duluth, Atlanta, Woodstock, Ellijay, Decatur, Athens, and Oakwood. Job seekers can obtain assistance with interview etiquette, resume writing, online applications and job searches. The public can also learn to where to find help with food stamps, Medicaid, public transportation and more.

“But for everything related to finding a job, we provide,” said Alicia Battle, regional manager at the Duluth career center.

Started in 1902 by Rev. Edgar Helms, a young Methodist missionary that would go door-to-door collecting items in need of repair, Goodwill established early its core business of helping people find work. After repair, the items were sold. The money was then used to pay workers doing repairs and sales. Today there are more than 2,000 Goodwill retail stores as destinations for donated clothing, accessories and furniture, but they are also places were people find jobs.

In 2009, Goodwill Industries International, Inc. reported more than $3.7 billion in revenue, and funneled 83 percent back into programs. More than 1.9 million individuals were served through employment and training program, the company stated. In the northern Georgia region, nearly 6,700 people were put to work last, according to nonprofit’s annual report. Most of the job seekers took advantage of general assistance, but some participated in specific training programs.

After landing a job many of those assisted continue to come into the center.  They return to take advantage of services, use computers, to make referrals and to inform the center of open positions at their place of employment.

“I got my job thanks to someone here, whose advice and referral I followed. I changed from being a bill collector to a security officer with Zeus Security Enforcement,” said Marcus Holt, of Lawrenceville, who has visited the Duluth center for five years. “I was walking by, saw (a) career center sign and decided to come in.  Now, I come in to use computers and to help others.”

The Duluth center also offers a Job Club, which provides opportunities to hear speakers offering employment advice and to network. There are also English as Second Language classes and free tax preparation from February to April for those who qualify.

“Before we know what our clients are looking for, we must first get to know them and their needs,” Battle said. “We don’t just want to find a job, but the right job for all of our clients.”

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