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

Hi Everyone – 

You all know how hard we are working to make sure you are safe from contracting the coronavirus while at Goodwill. We have safety protocols that when followed, will make being infected at work improbable. But all of us are also hearing and seeing the stories of people who are not practicing safety guidelines when they are not at work. As an example, my neighbors had a graduation party this weekend for their son and when I drove by I could see that no one was wearing a mask and they were not social distancing. The virus gets passed along in settings like this one. Marlene told a story from a week ago about when she went to Wesco to grab a gallon of milk. She started to walk in and then saw that the store was crowded and that only a couple of customers had masks on. She made the decision to turn around and head back to her car. Her husband asked her what was wrong and she told him “it isn’t safe in there…let’s go someplace else.” It is hard in the face of peer pressure and our own exhaustion with this pandemic to maintain safety protocols when others are not, but I implore you to do so anyway. 

We must be diligent in all circumstances if we are to protect one another from COVID-19, and this task might take even more effort when you are not at work. Please don’t forget your safety protocols when you leave Goodwill for the day. Our collective safety is dependent on what each one of us decides to do when we are not at work. 

Fortunately, the mask mandate seems to be working, and our retail stores are seeing an increase in people wearing masks when they come to shop. We are also seeing an increase in customer counts because of the requirement that masks be worn. People feel safer shopping. This does increase our challenge keeping shelves full (because we are understaffed), but we continue to work on finding the new team members we need. 

We lost a hero in John Lewis this weekend. He worked tirelessly to end racial segregation in the United States, and this loss seems extra hard in the face of news from Portland, Oregon that unidentifiable federal troops are violently pulling protesters for racial justice off the street and detaining them unlawfully. We need, more than ever, defenders of our democracy like Mr. Lewis. He served in the House of Representatives for 17 terms as a legislator from Georgia, and was one of the 13 original Freedom Riders – a group of seven white and six black people who in 1961 set out to ride together from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans. Their act of defiance was in riding together – a violation of rules in the south that black and white people could not sit next to each other on public transportation. Their peaceful protest was met with violence: they were beaten repeatedly, arrested, and taken to jail. He knew what it was like to experience violence and hatred in the face of non-violent protest, a practice he was committed to for his entire life. When asked in June by reporter Jonathan Capehart what he would say to people who feel as though they have already been giving it their all, but nothing seems to change, Mr. Lewis replied: 

“You must be able and prepared to give until you cannot give any more. We must use our time and our space on this little planet that we call Earth to make a lasting contribution, to leave it a little better than we found it, and now that need is greater than ever before.” 

The challenges we face are daunting, but Mr. Lewis also said nearly a year ago: “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” 

As we move forward in this time of great uncertainty and loss, take his words to heart. Be hopeful and optimistic, and speak up to defend those who need your voice! Get into the good kind of trouble that will shape our future together for the better. 

My best to all of you – 
Jeanette