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More Than a Vendor!! The Goodwill/Ceramcor Partnership

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Ready to Ship!

Welcome back!  My goal is to educate and excite you about all that Goodwill does for our community and what it can possibly do for you and/or your business!  If this is the first blog you have read in this series, please feel free to see how it all got started from my first entry here.

This week I am writing about s special professional partnership.  One of the best things that can happen in my line of work is to see a vendor relationship develop into a partnership.  When it grows from simply providing a service to having a sincere concern for mutual success, both parties come out ahead.

Horizon Goodwill has been fortunate to have such a relationship with Ceramcor.  We are their sole international distribution channel for their line of ceramic cookware and associated products.  They are a company that believes in us and we believe in them.  There is a level of trust and understanding that transcends the typical contract arrangement.

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On the Job!

From time to time, Ceramcor will have product that cannot be sold online.  In those cases, they make these a donation to Goodwill.  We in turn put these items in our stores and our customers get a chance to experience this amazing product at a fraction of the retail value.  A few pots and pans are always appreciated, but recently we received a donation that goes above and beyond.  When Ceramcor made a business decision to discontinue their line of ceramic mugs, they donated them to us.  3,872 of them!

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High End Quality!

This donation will translate into retail sales that will go a long way to support our employment programs and operations.  This level of generosity is just one example of what makes Ceramcor such a great partnership.  If you would like to see their full line of offerings, please visit them here and support a business that values giving back to their local communities.

Thanks for reading!  Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments regarding the blog or what our Business Services division can do for you!  bmarks@goodwill-hgi.org

Let’s Celebrate One of Our Own

Olivia BowensBecause “CELEBRATION” is one of our core values here at Horizon Goodwill Industries, we would like to take a moment to celebrate one of our own, Olivia Bowens, E-Commerce Agent.

Olivia has been with Horizon Goodwill since December of 2016. Before her Goodwill journey began, Olivia dealt with barriers that were keeping her from achieving her goals. Born and raised in Frederick, MD, Olivia’s family tree was poisoned with addiction throughout her childhood. She then faced her own battles with addiction and crime, ultimately leading to her incarceration in 2014. Olivia reached her breaking point and knew she needed to get back on the road to sobriety and success.

Olivia entered “Project 103” through the Frederick County Detention Center, which is a sobriety and substance abuse program. Before her release from incarceration in 2015, Olivia was offered a spot in the “Lasting Change” program to help her transition out of incarceration and her old patterns of addiction.

During this transitional phase, Olivia struggled to find employment because of her past. Her friend recommended that she stop by the Goodwill in downtown Hagerstown. She took her friends advice and met with the Mission Services team. Olivia was placed in the Goodwill job training program as a Wares Worker. After working in processing for six months, Olivia caught word that the E-Commerce department had an opening on their team. Through the support of her case management team, she applied, interviewed, and was hired on with Goodwill as a part time E-Commerce employee. Olivia says, “I like that Goodwill is willing to stand behind their employees and help them better their lives.”

Fast forward to 2018: Olivia is in the last phase of the “Lasting Change” program; has been sober for over two years and counting; has obtained her own apartment; has recently started cosmetology school; and has been promoted from part time to full time.

When asked where she sees herself in five years, Olivia said, “I hope to be done with school, still working for Goodwill and practicing cosmetology on the side. I also hope to have a family of my own.” Aside from working for Goodwill and pursuing her cosmetology degree, Olivia enjoys cheerleading, shopping, swimming, going to the beach, traveling, and riding rollercoasters.

Olivia came to Hagerstown with no license and no desire to change her situation. She didn’t have a vehicle, lacked confidence in herself and was reluctant to smile. She now has a driver’s license, a vehicle, a new smile with a million reasons to flash it! She is very excited to see where the road of life takes her, and we at Horizon Goodwill Industries look forward to celebrating her successes in the future.

Her advice to others who are struggling is, “NEVER GIVE UP! Things might not always be sunshine and roses. You’re going to have bad days but keep trying! Never give up on yourself.”

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.

Let’s Celebrate One of Our Own!

Let’s CELEBRATE one of our own!

Christa CashLet’s take a moment to celebrate one of our own, Christa Cash, Horizon Goodwill’s new store manager in Woodstock, Virginia.

Christa says, “What I love most about Goodwill is making a difference in the lives of people; whether that is a trainee, staff, customer, or donor.”   Christa started her journey with Horizon Goodwill as a PT Sales Clerk in July 2012 and has since worked her way up through a FT position. Christa was promoted to Store Manager in November of 2017. Christa loves her new position and says what keeps her motivated is “all the wonderful customers I meet and the individuals I work with. My team is amazing.  They make everyday enjoyable.”

Born in Fairfax, Virginia and raised in Spotsylvania County, Christa has a passion for competitive baking. When she is not baking in her spare time or managing her store, she has a love for animals and enjoys spending time with her husband of 25 years and their daughter.

When asked to share her most memorable moment, Christa stated, “it’s not just one moment, it’s moments. Over the past 5 years I have seen so many acts of kindness and caring.” She is most proud of her team for covering shifts, helping where needed, and working hard every day to achieve their goals.

We at Horizon Goodwill are extremely proud of her promotion and success. We look forward to celebrating her growth as a Store Manager, and watching her lead the Woodstock retail team in accomplishing their goals.

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.

Business Services Employee Spotlight – Sherry Lescalleet!

Welcome back!  My goal is to educate and excite you about all that Goodwill does for our community and what it can possibly do for you and/or your business!  If this is the first blog you have read in this series, please feel free to see how it all got started from my first entry here.

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Sherry Smiling on the Job!

This week’s Business Services Employee Spotlight is focused on Sherry Lescalleet.  Sherry is the project supervisor for our contract with the Washington County Department of Social Services.  She has held this role for 3 years and the customer could not be happier with her and her team.  In addition to keeping the site spotless, she goes the extra mile to check in with the customer on a daily basis and has developed a relationship that turned this contract into a partnership.

Sherry suffered from a barrier that is very common in our territory, lack of transportation.  She was having a hard time finding a job without transportation and came to Goodwill in 2013 looking for a hand up.  Through the services she received through Horizon Goodwill, she was able to land a job in our Hagerstown warehouse processing donations.  Later that year she was hired as a custodian at a job site she could walk to.  The following year, she was promoted to crew lead.  In 2015 she was promoted to custodial supervisor and in 2017, she took on additional responsibilities overseeing all of the custodial crews on our contract with Greenbrier State Park.

Award
Sherry Lescalleet, receiving the Unsung Hero Award from Assistant Director Bruce Massey at the WCDSS employee recognition event!

Through all of these positive changes in her life, she was able to maintain steady income, get her driver’s license, and eventually her own car!  With this, her barrier is in the rear view mirror!  Her supervisor, Matt, is thrilled to have her on the team and said, “Sherry has proven herself time and time again to be a pivotal member of our team.  She is always willing to jump in wherever and whenever needed.  She makes my job more enjoyable.”  We are so happy to have Sherry on our crew and she is a shining example of a Goodwill Success story.

Thanks for reading!  Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments regarding the blog or what our Business Services division can do for you!  bmarks@goodwill-hgi.org

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