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2022 Power of Work Awards

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67th Annual Power of Work Awards

Wednesday, May 4th, 2022

This year’s awards event is going to be a little different. Instead of a sit-down dinner in a sea of tables, we’ll invite you to experience how we are More Than Just A Store!

Each year, our Awards Program recognizes the hard work, dedication, and mission support of our clients and partners in the community. These individuals and businesses embody our mission of
removing barriers and creating opportunities for employment throughout our four-state territory. We hope that you will consider sponsoring this day of recognition. Thank you!

TITLE SPONSORSHIP $3,000.00 (SOLD!)

  • Most prominent Corporate Logo Placements on all Promotional Materials, Advertising, and highlighted
    on Social Media
  • Company banner placed outside of the building during the event and for one (1) week following the event.
  •  Recognition at the Power of Work Awards as the Title Sponsor.
  • Recognition during Award and Recipient Video Presentation during Power of Work Awards.
  • Acknowledgment as the Title sponsor in the Power of Work Awards Program.

PLATINUM SPONSORSHIP $2,000.00

  • Corporate Logo Placements on all Promotional Materials, Advertising, and highlighted on Social Media.
  • Your company banner will be placed outside the building during the event.
  • Recognition at the Power of Work Awards as a Platinum sponsor.
  • Recognition during Award and Recipient Video Presentation during Power of Work Awards.
  • Acknowledgment as a Platinum sponsor in the Power of Work Awards Program.

GOLD SPONSORSHIP $1,000.00

  • Corporate Logo Placements on all Promotional Materials, Advertising, and highlighted on Social Media.
  • Your Company logo was placed on a banner outside the building during the event.
  • Recognition during Award and Recipient Video Presentation during Power of Work Awards.
  • Acknowledgment as a Gold sponsor in the Power of Work Awards Program.

SILVER SPONSORSHIP $500.00

  • Corporate Logo Placements on all Promotional Materials, Advertising, and highlighted on Social Media.
  • Acknowledgment as a Silver sponsor in the Power of Work Awards Program.

BRONZE SPONSORSHIP $250.00

  • Sponsorship Recognition.
  • Acknowledgment as a Bronze sponsor in the Power of Work Awards Program.

To pay by credit card, please click the button located below to reach our financial donation page. Use the ‘custom amount’ option and put your sponsorship level in the comments field.

* For more information on these sponsorship opportunities or Horizon Goodwill Industries and its Mission in the Community, don’t hesitate to contact Amanda Rossen at arossen@goodwill-hgi.org or call 301-988-0501.

 

Choose Your Best Life

“I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life.” – Louise Hay

This is RaShawn Jenele Williams.  She is a 37 year old single mother of three kids, 17, 15, and 11.   RaShawn first came to Horizon Goodwill in 2011, but it wasn’t until 2017 that she made up her mind to make the rest of her life the best of her life.  This is her story.

“Hi, my name is RaShawn.  I have a 17 year daughter, 15 year old son with disabilities, and an 11 year old daughter.  I have been homeless 10 of the last 15 years.  I am a child of a drug addict.  When I was 8 years old, I was burned on my entire right side.  That is my life tattoo.  The most blessed people go through the toughest things.  I got shot in my leg when I was 23 and almost lost my life.  Wrong place, wrong time. Three months later, my mom overdosed and died.  That’s when my own drug addiction started.  I lost hope at 23.

*****

When I came to Horizon Goodwill back in 2011, looking for a job, I think I was looking for so much more, but I couldn’t make it work.  I was all over the place and “straying”, not able to hold down a job or take advantage of opportunities in front of me.  April, my Goodwill case manager, kept telling me I could have a different life from what I lived now.  Instead of listening, I left.

Fast forward 6 years: moving from house to house and job to job, I walked back into Horizon Goodwill at their downtown Hagerstown Resource Center and finally asked for help.  That’s when I met Tammy, Goodwill’s Get Onboard! Job Readiness Facilitator and the rest of the Workforce Development team.  I enrolled in their 10-day program and made sure to come everyday.  I wrote my resume, got free interview clothes, and made some new friends.  The GED prep classes got me thinking about school again and the financial literacy classes helped me understand what I needed to do to take care of my 3 kids.

Tammy showed me how to budget.  We broke it all down and I could see what I had to do.  She taught me organization.  The team also showed me how to be more compassionate.  How to deal with people and be more patient.  We are all from different walks of life.

God sent me to Goodwill for a reason.  Like I said, I have been homeless for so long, separated most times from my children or making them move with me.  My extended family wouldn’t help me because they all helped my mom and they say, “Look where it got her.”  But, now, my oldest is helping me out – we are doing it together.

I’m 37 and back in school.  I didn’t get my high school diploma or my driver’s license.  I am going to get myself a career.  Not a job, a career.  My goal is to get into Human Resources and help others become who they can be.  I want to work with special victims like me.  Goodwill took a chance on me, and I want to do that for someone else.

In 7 months, I went from being a Goodwill trainee, to part-time to full-time, to getting benefits, to getting my own house.  It is amazing to be here at Goodwill.  don’t know what I would do with out Goodwill right now.  And, I think Goodwill says the same about me – I make folks laugh and am good at my job.  [Working] is making me a better person.  What’s next?  Well, a car, my driver’s license, and my GED!  But, really – the rest of my life – that’s what’s next.”

To learn more, check us out on Facebook, Twitter and our website, www.horizongoodwill.org. You can also email me at cfleming@goodwill-hgi.org.

What Does Opportunity Look Like?

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

This is Brian Lee. He is a 41-year-old, single father of Morgan, his 3-year-old little girl.

Initially, Brian came to Horizon Goodwill as a Community Service Worker seeking to complete hours necessary to maintain his temporary cash assistance from the Department of Social Services. His story is one of finding opportunity in the middle of difficulty – of asking for help in removing the barriers you face and making the most of what happens next.

Hi, my name is Brian. I am a 41-year-old, single father with a 3-year-old little girl. I came to Horizon Goodwill in Spring of 2017 to complete mandatory community service hours in order to keep our food stamps. At the time, I was homeless – we were homeless. Think about if you didn’t have a bed for you little girl to sleep in at night? A safe, warm place for her to play? I wasn’t providing for her, and it made me feel angry and useless. There seemed to be so many things in my way. I didn’t know what to do.

After I received food stamps and assistance at Washington County Department of Social Services, they referred me to Horizon Goodwill to complete my 60 hours of mandatory service. There I met a whole team of Horizon Goodwill staff. When I completed my hours, I enrolled in Horizon Goodwill’s Get Onboard! 10-day job readiness program. That’s where I met Tammy, our job readiness instructor. I learned about conflict management on the job, dusted off my basic math and literacy with GED prep classes, completed my resume, and got my first interview outfit for free. Really, though, what Tammy taught me – it’s hard to explain, but she made me feel like I could do this. I could take care of my daughter the right way. The Goodwill team got us into a shelter, and by then I graduated into the paid work training program.

Over the last 7 months, Goodwill has done so much for me. Every time I think of Tammy, I am so grateful – but not just me, for my little girl. I got my forklift certification, I have a job, and now I have my own place for me and my daughter. It’s so great. For anyone who wants to do anything with their life and move on and up, this is the place for you. If you want a better life, come to Goodwill. It will be the best decision you ever made.

To learn more, check us out on Facebook, Twitter and our website, www.horizongoodwill.org. You can also email me at cfleming@goodwill-hgi.org.

Goodwill Gets Grant Helping Adults Go Back to School

thumbs up!
Get Onboard! graduates before talking with Community Foundation grant team about a grant like this helps them achieve their personal and professional.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Horizon Goodwill has received a $1,120.00 grant from The Community Foundation of Washington County.  This is so exciting – and what great timing: Back to School!  As you know, we launched our Get Onboard! job readiness program in February of 2017, and since then have enrolled nearly 250 job seekers across Western Maryland and graduated over 75 Washington County residents with some participants finding employment during or right after completion.  During this time, both Allegany College of Maryland and Hagerstown Community College (HCC) have provided instruction during Get Onboard! to help participants identify when continuing education or GED classes could be beneficial.

The grant from Community Foundation will allow us to provide GED tutoring and classes for individuals with developmental disabilities and barriers to employment.  Our Goodwill Workforce Development Team will use the money to really kick start our expanding continuing education initiative, with our first cohort drawing from students currently enrolled in Get Onboard!  Goodwill will provide comprehensive tutoring for 10 Get Onboard! participants seeking to get their GED.  In partnership with the Western Maryland Consortium and the Beacon House, the cohort will prepare to take and pass their GED exams.  The grant amount was matched at 50% by the Community Foundation for operating expenses which will be dedicated to providing backpacks, folders, and study materials needed.

For many, it can be scary making the commitment to “go back to school”.   But now, job seekers can work on their resume and work to get their GED in the same place.  Education partners, like Beacon House and HCC, have instructors teaching at Goodwill’s Job Readiness Center on Prospect Street downtown.

artistic desk picture

By choosing to continue their education, Washington County residents increase their marketability for employment and can realize greater opportunities for advancement if already employed.  Goodwill shares Beacon House’s belief that “all adult learners wishing to enter the workforce can be successful with some foundational courses that will prepare them for continuing education in a formal setting and make them more competitive for the workforce.” 

Thank you to the Community Foundation of Washington County for helping us advance Goodwill’s mission of removing barriers and creating opportunities.  And, a very, very special thank you to the William Justice Family Fund, the benefactor, for ensuring Washington County residents with disabilities and barriers to competitive work have access to continuing education and job training.

 

 

I’m Glad You Asked! – “Achievement”

Zackary (center) celebrating his achievement with Goodwill staff, Andy Brehm (left) and Allegany College of Maryland Instructor, Glenn Burns (right).

What is “achievement”? I’m glad you asked!  Achievement is defined as “a thing done successfully, typically by effort, courage or skill”.  I love, love, love this definition!

I was reminded of it this afternoon, when I got an email from a Horizon Goodwill vocational case manager, Misty Cubbage, celebrating the achievement of one of her clients, Zackary Taylor (center):  “I would like to congratulate Zackary Taylor on obtaining his Maryland High School diploma! Zackary recently completed the Adult Education Program through Allegany College of Maryland (ACM).  His classes were here at our Goodwill’s Career Readiness Campus in Cumberland where he was enrolled in the job training program through Goodwill!  He is our first graduate from our partnership with ACM.  We are very excited to watch him walk across the stage on June 14 at the graduation ceremony!”

Last summer, ACM started offering GED and Adult Basic Education classes at our Goodwill Career Readiness Campus in Cumberland, MD.  The ACM Team wanted their classes to reach more people and we wanted we wanted more of our clients to continue their education.  Since September 2016, thirteen (13) people have enrolled in classes, and almost half of those students also enrolled with Goodwill in our paid work training program.  Now, individuals who want to get their GED/diploma and need to find a job or earn a paycheck, can come to one place and do both – go to class in the morning, then walk across the campus and go to work after lunch.

To achieve anything, you must put forth the effort, enlist your courage, dust off your thinking cap and keep at it.  That’s what Zackary did; what he is continuing to do.  “I do not want my little girl to grow up thinking it is okay to do things the way I did them. I didn’t do this just for me. I did this for my family and friends who believed in me. I wanted to prove them right.”

Congratulations again Zackary!  Goodwill is honored to be a part of your journey.

For more information, feel free to contact me at cfleming@goodwill-hgi.org.  And, as always, please check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

GET ONBOARD! Job Readiness Starts Here

Are you looking for a job? Are you trying to get back into the workforce? If so, then you know getting a job is a lot of hard work and that keeping a job can be even harder.  That is why we are so excited to announce the launch of Horizon Goodwill’s new Job Readiness program, GET ONBOARD!
(Train emoji, high-five emoji, choo choo whistle emoji).

GET ONBOARD! participant and graduate Tina on Day 3 – showing off her new interview outfit: “I am ready for what’s next!”
Job ready indeed – GET ONBOARD! graduates looking good in their new interview swag donated by Valor Ministries Team and Valor’s “Draped with Confidence” clothing closet.

Goodwill’s GET ONBOARD! program is a twenty (20) hour classroom-based training that provides job readiness and soft skills needed by you and expected by your future employer.   In just one week, Goodwill’s GET ONBOARD! introduces participants to the world of work and teaches critical employability skills that will help you get AND keep your next job: Personal management, Teamwork, Conflict resolution, Financial literacy, Self-motivation, Professional attire and etiquette.

GET ONBOARD! is free to participants and will be offered at
Horizon Goodwill’s four (4) Job Connection Centers located in Hagerstown and Cumberland, MD; Martinsburg, WV; and, Winchester, VA. The twenty (20) hour training is offered in 5 sessions with certificates of completion given to participants who complete without any absences.

“One important key to success is self-confidence.  An important key to self-confidence is preparation.”
– Arthur Ashe

Since launching on February 1st, forty-five (45) job seekers have participated in and graduated from GET ONBOARD!  Goodwill’s Workforce Development Team would like to recognize all the GET ONBOARD! participants — thank you for your willingness to take your job readiness journey with us.  Participants and graduates not only embraced a new and innovative learning opportunity, but boldly began their journey of returning to the workforce and moving closer to self-sufficiency.

A special Goodwill thank you to our Washington County partners – Steve Hummel and team from Columbia Bank and Lori Wriston and the staff of Valor Ministries – for collaborating with us on this new venture.

For more information, go to horizongoodwill.org or call 301-733-7330.  Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

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