Helping people prepare for, find, and keep good jobs is what Goodwill is about.

Hi All –

What a year it has been! I have been spending a lot of time reflecting on all that 2020 has been and I am astounded at what we have managed to accomplish together in spite of unprecedented stress, uncertainty, and change.

Last week the leadership team started reviewing our top accomplishments for 2020 and the list quickly reached more than 50.

·       Many of us pivoted to working remotely in March, and the backbone of our organization, those who support and provide all of our basic business functions – our HR, IT, finance, maintenance, and marketing teams – never missed a beat. Incredible care was given to all of us by HR, IT got us operating differently without any added expense, finance never missed a payroll, maintenance built Plexiglas shields and tended to our facilities, and marketing made sure all of our customers had the latest information.

·       Workforce development not only began providing services remotely using phone and internet, but they revamped processes and grew programming. We have a new website for VITA, a new program for young adults who have interacted with law enforcement through Ignite, and a new opportunity to get job-ready through GoodWorks.

·       Retail was open, then closed, then open with limited customers, then with more customers, then with fewer, and through all of it, have been understaffed! This year they have redesigned their model to be data driven, changing the way they manage their business. We collected a record number of donations. E-commerce began to sell clothing and matched 2019 revenue. All this and we still gave back! We collected and delivered PPE to local health systems and collected and donated scrubs for organizations who provide housing to people with disabilities to use when caring for residents with COVID.

·       Our business-to-business lines – Industrial, Janitorial, Sustainability, and GoodTemps – stayed operational through it all, adjusting constantly to the changing environment. They managed huge swings in demand for services, growing their business when it was needed, shrinking it when the circumstances required it. Through it all, important metrics improved and we are finishing the year stronger than we started.

·       Many departments reported that their workplace relationships were strengthened, their teams had grown stronger, and that their staff exhibited incredible resilience despite the strain.

The full list of accomplishments will be out next month, and all of us have so much to be proud of as we wrap up this most difficult of years.

In addition, and most importantly, many of us woke up differently this year to the reality of racial inequality in our country. The murders of black and brown people, although present throughout our history, were visible to us in a way that inspired outrage and action. Our attention must stay firmly on solving disparities created by systemic racism, discrimination, and abuse, and our plan for 2021 includes funding and objectives to forward our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

The rest of our plan for 2021 is also solid and inspiring. We will be better for accomplishing the goals we have set forward and I am excited to see what we continue to do together!

I wish you all peace and comfort as you navigate the holiday season, and I hope you find unexpected joy and laughter –

 Jeanette