Sharing the Good - Spring Newsletter

Good

McCook Store Opening Shared Living Provider Covid-19 Update Holiday Party Employee of the Quarters Upcoming Events Summer Fun Ideas

2020 Spring Newsletter

Sharing the

Featured In This Issue:

SECURING EMPLOYMENT CREATING INDEPENDENCE INSPIRING HOPE SUPPORTING PERSONAL GROWTH

New Retail Store In McCook Is A Popular Shopping Option For Community On January 9th we opened our newest store and donation drop off in McCook, located at the intersection of Highway 34 and 83 in Westview Plaza. The McCook store’s grand opening and Chamber ribbon cutting took place on Thursday, March 12th. During the opening, customers were able to take tours, meet the team and Mayor of McCook, and enjoy some light refreshments. The new store is managed by Ashlie DeCosta.

By John Molina

The store’s sales floor offers 7,200 square feet to allow for donations of clothing, housewares, electronics, books and other items to be sold at bargain prices. The donation canopy was added and finished in March. The McCook store is Goodwill’s ninth store with current stores in Scottsbluff, North Platte, Lexington, Kearney, Grand Island North Webb and South Locust, Hastings and Columbus.

Goodwill is familiar with the McCook community, hosting consistent donation drives for many years and providing Employment and Career Services to individuals living with disabilities since 2012. The Employment and Career Services programs helps an average of 40 individuals find employment in the McCook area. “The revenue generated from the sale of merchandise supports the employment, independent living and recovery programs offered to people living with disabilities in communities across central and western Nebraska,” said Tammy Slater, CEO of Goodwill Industries of

Greater Nebraska. “We are excited to have a retail location in McCook. McCook is a wonderful community and we appreciate the support we have received in the past through our donation drives and employment services.

Now, we are able to add unique shopping experiences for the community.”

Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska is seeking

Shared Living Providers in Kearney and Grand Island

Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska is seeking individuals and families to become Shared Living Providers for individuals living with developmental disabilities. A Shared Living Provider opens their home to a person living with a developmental disability, providing them a caring place to live and teaching daily activities of living and independent living skills. A person living with the disability moves into the home of the Shared Living Provider and becomes a part of their family. The Shared Living Provider is responsible for attending to everyday daily living needs, transportation, and accessing the community.

By Kim Buschkoetter

Shared Living Providers are independent contractors with training provided prior to service delivery. Shelby Heinen, Shared Living Home Manager with Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska encourages the community to learn more, “I have seen first-hand that when individuals live in a shared living environment, there is “My desire to make a difference in someone’s more consistency and one on one attention, life led me to this path. I opened my home to which helps individuals thrive in their Zach and he is part of my family. Zach wants everyday lives. Improvements in health, hygiene, communication and forming what every other 26 year-old wants and it’s my positive relationships are what we see. A goal to make sure he reaches those goals.” shared living environment is so person - Stephanie centered that people really get a chance to work on their goals and become as independent as possible.”

Zach is living with Stephanie and shares about his experience, “New Beginnings. Living in a shared living home has given me a second chance. Stephanie makes sure I take my medications and helped me get my mental health on track. She has given me the opportunity to meet new people too.” Stephanie is passionate about being a Shared Living Provider, “my desire to make a difference in someone’s life led me to this path. I opened my home to Zach and he is part of my family.

Zach wants what every other 26 year-old wants and it’s my goal to make sure he reaches those goals.” Stephanie is excited about the future for people living with disabilities, “we’ve come a long way in 50 years. If we continue down this path of progress with the compassion, caring and forward focus like Goodwill has, can you image, just for a moment, how far we will go in another 50 years?”

BECOME A

Shared Living Provider

To learn more about becoming a Shared Living Provider contact Shelby at:

(308) 379-6860

SECURING EMPLOYMENT CREATING INDEPENDENCE INSPIRING HOPE SUPPORTING PERSONAL GROWTH

Covid-19 Update We hope this finds you safe, healthy and connected. As you probably know our retail stores, outlet and e-commerce closed on March 23.

Donation drive thru’s remain open Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m.

– 5:00 p.m. and Sunday Noon – 4:00 p.m., the warehouse remains open to process donations and we continue community donation drives. Social distancing, 10 people or less and heightened sanitization measures are in place to keep people safe.

We know during this difficult time, behavioral health and developmental disability services, employment and career services are critical and more important than ever. Our service delivery system has been modified to meet the needs of people enrolled in our services. At this time, we continue to provide services in alternative ways

while implementing safety measures, including screenings and directed health measures to ensure the health and well-being of everyone. We transitioned to remote service delivery on March 31. The transition happened quickly and we acknowledge Gary Carter, Goodwill IT Technician for his knowledge and instruction as he supported the services team with calm and patience and our services team for developing a well-thought out plan and for embracing a new way to provide essential services to people active in our services.

We are all in this together. At a safe and appropriate time, we will resume our normal activities and work together to rebuild stronger, more resilient communities. We will share more information on when we will resume operations on our

Holiday Party Shout Out On December 10, our Grand Island, Hastings and Kearney service participants and employees gathered together at the Grand Island VFW for our annual holiday party. Everyone enjoyed fellowship, a delicious meal and had a lot of fun singing Christmas carols led by, Chris Kaskie, a strong community supporter.

Special thank you to the employees at Principal Financial for wrapping our 700 gifts that were given to our participants, KFC for sponsoring a delicious meal, General Collection and Kookies, Kupcakes and All That for donating the cupcakes, Hiland Dairy for donating the milk and Jan Cook and the ADK ladies that served the meal.

By Kim Buschkoetter

website www.goodwillne.org and social media channels. We ask for your understanding and patience.

At this time we are adhering to Governor Rickett’s Directed Health Measures and tune in daily to stay up-to-date on changes to Nebraska’s environment. We would like to reassure you that your health and well-being remain top priorities for us. As a mission-based nonprofit organization, Goodwill cares deeply for the program participants we serve and its employees as well as the many donors, shoppers and volunteers who allow us to help community members

Employee of the Quarters Fall Quarter:

Lacey Bonner Retail Administrative Assistant

Winter Quarter:

Heather Bradley Recovery Specialist - Grand Island

Upcoming Events May

7 Give Hastings Day (Hastings)

July

7 Go Big Give (Grand Island)

Due to Covid-19 our Annual Dinner is postponed until further notice.

August 15

Platte River Charity Shoot

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SECURING EMPLOYMENT CREATING INDEPENDENCE INSPIRING HOPE SUPPORTING PERSONAL GROWTH

12 Activities

To Have Fun & Create Memories

This Summer

We’ve compiled suggestions to help make your time at home interesting and perhaps even productive.

1. Have a campfire in the backyard Make or buy a fire pit and sit around the fire.

Share family stories or ghost stories. Then make s’mores or toasted marshmallows.

2. Make a new recipe or dish Cook, bake or grill a new recipe you have always wanted to try but never had time to make it.

3. Take a walk or ride a bike Turn on some tunes and take a walk or go for a bike ride.

4. Go on a nature scavenger hunt in 8. Create art outside Grab some sidewalk chalk and draw or write your backyard or neighborhood Make up your own, or use a pre-made sheet you can find online. Just remind kids that they must stay 6 feet away from other people in public spaces.

inspirational messages to for people that walk by your house or workplace.

9. Figure out if you can turn your hobby into a moneymaker

5. Write and mail letters or cards to You can advertise your skillset or products on Facebook or create a storefront on Etsy and your friends and family There’s something comforting about ink on paper, but they would surely also welcome e-mails and video chats.

6. Get organized, deep clean It’s time for Spring Cleaning and why not do it when you have the time to purge. Donate your un-wanted items to your closest Goodwill store or donation drive trailer.

7. Plant a garden Purchase some seeds or some plants with a little fertilizer and daily watering, watch it grow - enjoy the beauty of flowers or enjoy eating your vegetables.

make some extra cash.

10. Camp in the backyard If the weather cooperates, and you have the gear, string up a hammock, put up a tent and “rough it” from the safety of your own backyard.

11. Learn a new instrument Shop online at ShopGoodwill.com to find an affordable, low cost instrument.

12. Play yard or board games Turn off the Switch, XBox, PS4, iPads and dig out one of the board or yard games.

By Lindsey Miles

SECURING EMPLOYMENT CREATING INDEPENDENCE INSPIRING HOPE SUPPORTING PERSONAL GROWTH 2020 Spring Newsletter

Good Sharing the

PO Box 1863 | Grand Island, NE 68802