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

Hi Everyone –

The leadership team met last Thursday and the tone was celebratory! Here, on the eve of the one-year anniversary of shuttering our stores, it is delightful to hear so much enthusiasm and optimism on our current state of affairs. Sales are up, as new programs and innovations are coming to fruition.  

The themes that kept coming up were our appreciation for each other and our ability to accomplish great things when we work together across departments and business lines. Here are a few highlights:

·       Our first Ignite participant was forklift certified! Transportation, Industrial Services, and Workforce Development came together to make it happen.

·       GoodTemps was awarded the Muskegon County temporary staffing contract which involved a lot of advocacy on our part.  Also, some of our GoodTemps employer partners are raising their wages which helps us in recruitment and is great for our workers.

·       Retail has made a huge leap forward in RoundUp. Some stores have increased their percentages by double digits! It isn’t always easy for our cashiers to ask our customers, but it makes an enormous difference in the impact on funding for programming! We all appreciate your efforts.

·       We received our first load of electronics from Padnos to sell in our Electronics Room at the Apple store and through e-commerce. This partnership will provide additional revenue, keep product out of landfill, and offer much needed and desired equipment to our shoppers. In addition, the Electronics Room made $3,100 in its first week!

·       We collaborated with Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids to lower our waste hauling expense through a joint contract.

·       Three participants in our Janitorial Occupational Training (JOT) graduated with a wonderful celebration thrown by Fricano’s. Two of those graduates have been hired into Goodwill! It’s a good thing, because Janitorial is already winning expansions to the Ottawa County contract.

·       VITA passed its IRS audit at our new location in Fremont with flying colors!

·       GoodWorks has two new participants starting today. It’s a great opportunity for people who come for help in finding a job to get prepared through classroom and on-the-job experience.

·       Our new Oculus virtual reality headset is ready to use with a helpful interview tutorial. Safety protocols are in place for keeping it clean and safe to use.

·       Many policies and procedures are being updated so that they are relevant and helpful to all of you.

Our ability to do great things is dependent on our working powerfully together, and this means everyone. Our vision that everyone has a pathway to meaningful and sustaining work means that we need to remove barriers that include systemic challenges like racism, discrimination, educational and economic inequities, and other long-term social injustices. This means standing up for what is right when others make comments or exhibit behaviors that are racist, whether they are our co-workers or elected officials. We must hold one another accountable to being our best selves – people who care deeply about other people, families, and our community.

My best –

Jeanette