Good People Spring 2023

STORIES OF HOPE & TRANSFORMATION SPRING 2023

Ashlee Lucas, Facilities Manager at Goodwill, is motivated, focused, and ready to tackle any challenge. She credits Goodwill for recognizing her potential. PAGE 2

markus just got a job through project search!

Nineteen-year-old Markus and his Goodwill Career Case Manager, Georgie, stand outside his new place of employment.

Story on page 4

RIGHT: Goodwill CEO Rob Neville visits the Project SEARCH program at Ascension Seton

A day in the transformed life of Ashlee Lucas

8:45AM

7:45AM

8:15AM

From Prison to Purpose.

Ashlee Lucas—mother, wife, facilities manager— credits Goodwill for turning her life around.

Addicted at 14, incarcerated for nine years at 20, Ashlee Lucas was considered a lost cause by some. When she re-entered her broken life at 29, she knew one thing for certain—she did not want to go back to prison. Employment was mandatory for independence, but employment after incarceration is hard to obtain. Ashlee heard Goodwill Central Texas was her best option, and she was hired on the spot.

That initial Goodwill job in retail turned out to be so much more than work. Ashlee found supportive and engaged mentors—people who recognized her skills, spirit, and potential.

GOODWILL FACILITIES MANAGER

Arrive at work with son Julius

Manage the online warehouse and troubleshoot as issues arise

Daily team check-in before dropping Julius at daycare

At first, Ashlee says, “I sometimes literally walked to work just so I could feel some forward progress. My hold on my life was so fragile.” But she was hungry to thrive, and her direct supervisor saw it. He provided daily guidance and support, and fostered her need for goals and purpose. “I asked him how quickly I could become a supervisor,” Ashlee says, “and three months later I was managing a store.“

Ashlee was also inspired by a colleague in a leadership position with a similar past. “Seeing her thrive, I knew there were no limits. I knew my past would not be a barrier at Goodwill,” said Ashlee. Today, as facilities manager, Ashlee provides infrastructure support for all retail and mission sites.

A home, a spouse, a son—all of these blessings sprang from the stability and security Ashlee gets from a good job and supportive community. “The Ashlee then is not the Ashlee now. Goodwill helped me remake myself.”

Goodwill showed me that I am a beautiful human being who has all the ability in the world to become anything I want to be.

ASHLEE LUCAS, FACILITIES MANAGER

markus Ribback is a young man with autism. As a band member in high school, he had a strong community. The transition from school to career was sometimes isolating and confusing for Markus and Project SEARCH provided confidence and purpose.

PROJECT SEARCH TRAINS AND EMPLOYS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Project SEARCH is an international program that helps students prepare for life after high school through work experiences. Interns work for nine months in three different, fully integrated work experiences that teach them valuable hard and soft skills.

WHERE DOES IT TAKE PLACE? Project SEARCH is a collaboration between a local school district, the Texas Workforce Commission and long-term support providers. The bulk of local Project SEARCH internships take place at Ascension Seton hospitals. As the program expands to serve outlying communities, Kalahari Resorts & Conventions (Round Rock) and Baylor Scott & White (Lakeway) have also signed on as host sites.

WHAT DOES GOODWILL DO? Goodwill career case managers embedded at each Project SEARCH establish relationships with student interns and provide personalized coaching—from hygiene to job searches and employment. They also assist teachers in the classroom. As the case manager for 19-year-old Markus Ribback, Georgie Morris is proud of his achievement.

“Markus immediately took initiative and made himself so invaluable to the medical team that they offered him a job after only three months of training!”

—Georgie Morris, Goodwill Career Case Manager

OUR PARTNERSHIPS PROVIDE GOOD JOBS

INDEED PARTNERSHIP INDEED AND GOODWILL TEAM UP TO HELP MILLIONS

Indeed’s Ready to Work initiative aims to connect 50,000 job seekers with employers looking to hire, supporting the company’s goal of helping 100 million people get jobs globally by 2030, including 30 million facing barriers.

Locally, the Goodwill Central Texas and Indeed partnership identifies solutions to sustainable work for overlooked job seekers and career advancers. Indeed engineers and product developers recently met with Goodwill clients and staff to understand the real barriers job seekers face.

“It is evident that our mission extends throughout Indeed’s company culture,“ said Jennifer Carter, Chief Mission Officer of Goodwill Central Texas. “We share a commitment to helping everyone access the opportunity to thrive.”

TEXAS MUTUAL PARTNERSHIP PROVIDES GRANT FUNDING AND VOLUNTEER SERVICE

Our partnership with Texas Mutual is ongoing and exciting. In 2022, during Texas Mutual’s Volunteer Week, staff and executives assisted with mock interviews and coaching to prepare participants for job searches in a variety of fields. Texas Mutual awarded Goodwill a Workforce Development & Safety Training grant which provided pre-apprentice Electrical Helper training and Certified Medical Assistant certification. This generous partner also prepared and dropped off 150 care kits with essential toiletry items to be shared with clients and team members in need.

ONE JOB TRANSFORMS THE LIFE OF that employee— And all the rest of us.

BENEFITS

Almost

COMMUNITYPARTICIPATION SAFETY many benefits

Reducedcrime.Moremoney invested in workforceadvancementprograms,

BENEFITS FOR THE GREATER COMMUNITY

less on socialsafetynetprograms.

Educatedandsafelyhousedindividualsandfamilies.

More moneyinvestedinthelocaleconomy , increasedtax revenue.

Thrivingdiversity,equity,inclusion,andbelonging .

Increased voting,charitablecontributions,andvolunteerism.

through the sale of donated items in our stores are reinvested in our community.

workforce advancement starts here.

The Goodwill Central Texas Workforce Advancement (WFA) division is a team of career-readiness professionals who removes obstacles to opportunity and connect people to education and meaningful employment. Through one-on-one career guidance, employee best practices training, and other soft skills, the WFA team gets program participants career-ready, provides support for basic needs, and makes referrals to a network of holistic service providers.

Enrichment and supportive opportunities are also extended to all Goodwill team members through our Upward Program.

Upward Program

Goodwill Central Texas employs over 2,000 individuals with barriers to employment such as homelessness, criminal justice involvement, disability, and a history of substance abuse.

success. Our team of career coaches helps team members set career goals, creates personal development plans to grow along their long-term career path, and connects them with basic resources when needed. Career coaches are also a resource and guide for Goodwill retail leadership to support the needs of retail and postretail team members. Counseling and career services are provided onsite, in-person, or virtually for employees.

2022 Upward Highlights for Goodwill Team Members

The Upward Program is designed to prepare these employees for

Every donation you make to Goodwill helps us provide education, career training, and job opportunities for people in our community like Manzi. When Manzi arrived in Austin from Rwanda, he was unsure of his next steps, so he turned to Goodwill for help. After continuing his education at the Goodwill Career & Technical Academy, he is now fulfilling his dream of working to help others. That’s your donations at work. That’s Goodwill.

When you donate, your hand-me-downs become lift-me-ups. www.goodwillcentraltexas.org

Higginbotham’s Curtis Page, Goodwill’s CFO Danny Chism and CEO Rob Neville, BCBSTX’s Evin Sherbine and Daniel Johnson, Texas Mutual’s Jim Ziolkowski