From Goodwill to Good Jobs

Jul 17, 2012

Employee of Goodwill Industries Charlotte sitting at a table with a woman in a white shirt

SUPER: Andy Arnette, Board Member and Former Client, Goodwill Industries

Andy Arnette: A lot of people, you know, they think Goodwill is a place where you drop off your clothes. But I’ll guarantee if it had not been for Goodwill I would not be where I am today. Period.

SUPER: Michael Elder, President/CEO, Goodwill Industries

Michael Elder: The mission of Goodwill is all about helping people be successful in the world of work. We provide direct employment, as well as occupational skill training programs for people who have, barriers.

Andy Arnette: Back in ’89 I actually, was in this very room, taking a computer programmer training. I’m sure that, all of you are going through challenges, and…determination. It’s going to get you through. In 1986, I suffered a spinal cord injury, leaving me, you know, paralyzed, pretty much from the chest down. It narrowed my options down to nothing, I thought. I was only twenty years old. I didn’t know what in the world what I was going to do. My rehabilitation counselor mentioned Goodwill. When I got to Goodwill, computer programmer training, was being offered to people will disabilities.

Michael Elder: Our founder used to say not charity, but a chance. And people really take hold of their lives. They just need to know that people are in their corner.

Andy Arnette: I’ve been through it, lived it, I graduated from it, and I prospered from it. I started with a financial institution here in Charlotte. I was hired on full-time.

SUPER: Charles Bowman, North Carolina State President, Bank of America

Charles Bowman: Goodwill’s a transformative place. Anybody who comes in the door, myself included, you don’t go out the same way. You see people who are employed here, taking apart computers, to generate revenue. And you go further down the hall, and you see a whole classroom of people, learning how to do clerical services.

V/O(Michael Elder): Working with area employers, we’ve tried to develop training programs that take advantage of occupations that are in demand in our community.

SUPER: Shell Richardson, Former Client

Shell Richardson: One of them was hospitality. And I thought, ‘Now that’s what I would like, that’s a fit for me.’

V/O(Michael Elder): We provide opportunities for ex-offenders, opportunities for people that we have in poverty, opportunities for our veterans.

SUPER: Nicholas Riggins, Intake Counselor, Goodwill Industries

Nicholas Riggins: Being an air-force veteran, I can look at them and see myself. So it’s just looking at an extention of myself, and saying ‘Wow. You can do it.’

Michael Elder: Bank of America has been involved in so many different aspects of Goodwill. Everything from, certainly financial support, to volunteer involvement…

Charles Bowman: We have contributed over a hundred and sixty thousand volunteer hours. The most recent contribution was a two hundred thousand dollar grant.

Michael Elder: Most importantly, or at least, very important to us, they hire our graduates.

Andy Arnette: Goodwill is always here for you. And I hope that every one of you, prosper from it, and hopefully it’s just a stepping stone to bigger things in life.

Established in 1965 in Charlotte, NC, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont provides employment, job training and career services for adults and youth in 18 counties throughout North Carolina and South Carolina. By operating as part of a network of 165 autonomous Goodwill organizations, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont is able to provide workforce development programming throughout a large and diverse region.

Goodwill’s approach provides both specialized training and placement services. Individuals have found success in acquiring new skills through training programs in a variety of fields, such as hospitality and tourism and banking and customer service, as well as construction. Goodwill also works with individuals to find temporary and permanent employment by matching participants’ skills and abilities with employers’ needs through its GoodWork Staffing business and six job resource centers in the region.

Bank of America has been a proud partner of Goodwill for 15 years. While the bank has donated over $400,000 in support to the organization, the greatest benefit of the relationship comes in the form of volunteerism; working together, bank executives and employees volunteer their expertise and time through Goodwill’s Banking and Customer service training program, as well as financial literacy training sessions throughout the year. The bank also provides executive leadership on Goodwill’s Board of Directors.

“Calling Bank of America a corporate partner is an understatement,” said Michael Elder, President and CEO for Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. “We would not be able to provide nearly as many programs or help the thousands of unemployed in the region without the leadership and support of the bank. They are truly a strategic partner that supports the advancement of our goals and objectives on so many levels.”

The Southern Piedmont region of the Carolinas was hard hit during the recent economic crisis. Businesses and industries suffered, leaving thousands of North and South Carolinians unemployed and seeking new skill sets.

As the Southern Piedmont region recovers from a tough recession and high unemployment rates, thousands of Carolinians have gained new skill sets thanks to Goodwill’s services and Bank of America’s financial and volunteer support.

In 2011 alone, Goodwill’s support services helped more than 2,000 people find employment while also providing more than 16,000 people with workforce skills and programming. These efforts help individuals and their families support themselves, but will also help to advance Charlotte’s growth and transformation for years to come.

“Charlotte and its workforce would not be the same without the services that Goodwill provides the region,” said Charles Bowman, North Carolina and Charlotte market president, Bank of America. “Bank of America has been a strong supporter because Goodwill delivers high quality services, collaborates with other nonprofits and creatively uses every resource available to them.”

Learn how Goodwill Industries is partnering with the Bank of America Charitable Foundation on the Vested in Veterans program to connect veterans with support to gain civilian employment.

Join the conversation: Learn how we’re working to help strengthen communities on the Bank of America Facebook page

From Goodwill to Good Jobs

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