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

Hi Everyone –

It has almost been a year since we closed down everything to protect ourselves from this unknown threat called the novel coronavirus. We thought that those of us who could would work from home for a couple of weeks, that the layoffs would be about that long, and that we would handle the crisis and be back together quickly. It is a YEAR LATER. Janitorial and Industrial never lost a beat, Retail paused for a few months, and Workforce Development and GoodTemps learned to provide services remotely. Each of us has a story to tell about our experiences of this time and I would love to hear yours. Give me a call or shoot me an email. I want to know how it has been for you.

The Governor’s order for office workers to work from home if they are able ends April 13 and until that changes, we are planning to be back to work in the office on the 14th. Then, as is safe, we can start scheduling huddles again, we can meet in person, and we can have lunch together in a break room. It is so good to look forward to these things! We will be wearing masks for the foreseeable future, but we will be able to do it with more of us together. Thank you for your diligence in observing safety protocols. We are once again down to no new cases of COVID-19.

A few updates:

·       The Electronics Room is open at the ROC! I am sure that as I am writing this it has already been emptied out, and I suspect it will be hard to keep full as the word gets out. People are so excited about it!

·       A new Oculus headset that is programmed with a job interview tutorial is now available at the Career Center. A mini grant from GII helped to purchase the headset for work with those who have been involved with the criminal justice system.

·       New LED lights at the ROC and Ellis will save us a combined $2,000 per year in electricity. Not only will be saving hard earned money, but we will be benefitting the environment at the same time.

·       Our new donated van to assist justice-involved individuals got its new graphics and soon you will see it out on the road providing rides to work.

·       Sales per square foot at Ellis and Fremont were over $200 in January! Congrats – this is a remarkable accomplishment.

·       GoodTemps filled four positions for Community enCompass, one of our new contract partners. GoodTemps continues to get new job orders, so refer those you know who are looking for work. We have something available!

·       And finally, please refer those you know who have been touched by the criminal justice system and who are between the ages of 18 and 24 to our new Ignite program. We are ready to go with great training opportunities.

Hope you all have a great week!

Jeanette