Local Works: Goodwill transforms the lives of Texans through work

Posted on 10/10/2017 by Guest Author

Goodwill is a cornerstone of the Central Texas community. For almost six decades, we have empowered thousands of people in our community to transform their lives through work. We’re proud to be a leader in workforce development through education, training, and career placement. Our mission to generate lifelong connections to work is funded through our social enterprise model of donated goods and retail, business and staffing solutions, recycling operations, and generous community support.

While our vision has evolved with the needs of our community, we know that education and work are the only true pathways to breaking the cycle of poverty and creating long-term generational change for the underserved in the community. This includes people who are uneducated, have a disability, criminal background, facing homelessness, and youth who lack opportunity. That’s why we’ve set an aggressive ten-year vision for ourselves to empower 100,000 Central Texans to transform their lives through work.

What We Do

Every day we work to make a difference in Central Texas by holistically strengthening and protecting both the people in our community and the environment they live in.

We believe that with the right tools and support, everyone has the ability to transform their lives through work! Goodwill works with each program participant and student to find the right pathway suited to their abilities and long-term career plans. We offer comprehensive options to help the people we serve succeed on their career journey and a better quality of life.

We’re proud to serve the people in our community and we’re proud to be a leader in environmental sustainability. As one of the largest recyclers in Central Texas, we strive to achieve “zero waste” by using economically and environmentally sound methods to recycle and reuse donations from our generous donors. Last year alone, we diverted more than 80 million pounds of items from Central Texas landfills.

How We Empower Central Texans

The revenue generated from your donations stays local to support our community. Goodwill delivers education and training to help our neighbors elevate their circumstances. Our dedicated career case managers start with the needs of each individual job-seeker or student to help them decide which programs best meet their needs.

Participants and adult students make long-lasting changes to their lives and families through the following programs:

The Goodwill Excel Center is our free, adult charter high school. It’s the only high school in Texas where people ages 17-50 can earn their high school diploma. This year, we’ve added a branch of the school at the Lockhart Women’s Correctional Facility. Since more than 80 percent of those incarcerated in Texas lack a high school diploma, we’d love to see more of these branches in the future!

The Goodwill Career & Technical Academy is an affordable, accelerated training center for professional certifications in high-demand industries such as healthcare, technology, business professions, and skilled trades. Many of these classes are absolutely free to students and they’re designed to meet the demand of the Central Texas job market.

The Workforce Advancement group offers training designed for those needing specialized instruction in career-building support skills like resume building, interviewing, financial management, and other career advancement methods vital to workplace success.

Our Business Solutions team provides career placement services after students have completed their education or job skills training. They monitor the needs of local employers and determine which job skills are right for the Central Texas job market. This creates a direct pipeline to career opportunities.

Goodwill is a Great Place to Work

As Goodwill Central Texas has grown into an organization of more than 1,600 employees, we recognize the need to rededicate our efforts to creating and maintaining a culture where every team member thrives.

We start by giving a voice to every team member. During 2016, our employees were asked to contribute their thoughts and ideas during our organization-wide refresh of values.

Every day, we challenge ourselves to embody our values and inform our culture. We believe our culture is what makes Goodwill a great place to work—we not only empower people in the community to transform their lives, but our own!

Since we are a workforce development organization, we strive to provide opportunities and career advancement to our Goodwill Family, as well as to the people we serve. Our rallying cry is “Do Good. Be Great,” and we strive to do that in all that we do!

Remember that every time you shop, donate, hire career-ready program participants, or partner with us for your business needs, you are empowering 100,000 Central Texans to transform their lives through work. Visit our website to learn more, and be sure to watch our 2016 Year in Review.


This segment of Local Works was written by Jerry Davis, President and CEO, of Central Texas Goodwill.


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