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Goodwill Does What?!?!- Staffing Services

Staffing
Staffing Services Available!

Welcome back!  As you may know, 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 would like to tell you about a business vertical at Horizon Goodwill Industries that has been growing quickly.  Staffing services!  [Read more…] about Goodwill Does What?!?!- Staffing Services

Business Services Employee Spotlight- James Taylor!

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.

Employee Spotlight

This week’s Business Services Employee Spotlight is focused on James Taylor.  Back in 2012, James found himself in a situation where he needed a hand up.  Just like so many in our communities, drugs had found their way into James’ life and had him on downward course.  Fortunately, he had the courage to do something about it.  James took up residency at the Wells House in Hagerstown, MD to engage their program to regain control of his life.  With the help and support of the staff there, he was successful in beating his addiction and was ready for the next step in his renewed life.

James
James hard at work!

Reentering the work force from a situation like his is not an easy path.  Luckily, James had a girlfriend who was an employee at Horizon Goodwill.  She told him about our programs and how we could help him to get his life back on track and headed towards gainful employment.  James took her advice, entered our program, and he soon started earning a paycheck!

He joined our team as a production worker processing donations.  Before long, he advanced onto a commercial contract tied to our partnership with HBP.  By 2013, James was awarded a supervisory role on our Custodial team at Greenbrier State Park.  When this seasonal assignment ended, James was offered the Supervisor position on our Hagerstown State Contracts Van Crew.  In this capacity he has responsibility for ensuring that the Maryland State sites on this route present a high level of cleanliness.  He does a great job!  Both our internal leadership and the end customers love his work.

The gratitude goes both ways and James is grateful for what Horizon Goodwill has done to improve the quality of his life.  “Working for Goodwill has enabled me to have a productive life, take care of my family, and to grow”.  Stories like his are motivating, inspiring, and the reason we at Horizon Goodwill do what we do.

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

Business Services Employee Spotlight- Debi Logeston!

SHA Sideling
Visitor’s Center at Sideling Hill

Welcome back!  Western Maryland has some beautiful sights to take in along the drive between Hagerstown and Cumberland.  The rolling mountains offer great vistas with scenery that changes with the seasons.  If you have ever stopped at the Visitor’s Center at the top of Sideling Hill, you know what a geological gem it is to take in.  The sight of the rock striations are breathtaking.  If you enter the Visitor’s Center, you will find an abundance of interesting information and you will likely get a chance to be greeted by the smiling face that is the inspiration for this week’s blog entry, Debi Logeston!

Goodwill SHA
Debi running the flag up!

As a long time sufferer of back pain, Debi connected with Horizon Goodwill and found comfort in an organization that understands that barriers to employment are not the end of the road, but rather a challenge that can be overcome.  Beyond just helping to connect with a job, Debi realized that Goodwill could help her realize her full potential.  She would soon find that life with a disability and financial stability were not mutually exclusive.

Debi began work on the Sideling Hill project in 2006.  In 2010 she was promoted to Custodial Supervisor and then in 2013 Debi became the Site Manager.  She now manages a full staff that is responsible for the total facility management of both the East and West bound centers.  She not only has to manage her staff, but is also in charge of working with the State to procure all services needed to keep both sites operational and visitors happy.  Both the SHA customer and I agree that she does an outstanding job!

Debi
Hard at work!

“Through my life I have suffered from back pain and in 2014 I was told I had severe anterolisthesis and bilateral spondylolysis and told what my limitation should be. Not that that slowed me down any, but working for Goodwill gave me the opportunity to continue work no matter what limitation I had.”

Horizon Goodwill does so much to help so many.  And there are so many more people out there for us to help!  Sometimes it just takes that first step before you are able realize your full potential.  This is why we are here.  This is what Horizon Goodwill is all about.  Removing barriers, creating opportunities.

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

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.

Business Services Employee Spotlight- Diana Redmond!

Welcome back!  If you have ever driven to the Western edge of Maryland and stopped at the Youghiogheny Rest Area and Overlook, you know what a visual gem it is.

Overlook
Beautiful views in Western MD

When you enter the Welcome Center, you will find an abundance of interesting information and you will likely get a chance to be greeted by the smiling face that is the inspiration for this week’s blog entry, Diana Redmond!

Like many of the staff that are working on Goodwill contracts, Diana has a story to tell about how she has benefited from our services.  Mobility became an issue for Diana after a car crash, but not in the way that you might assume.  Rather than needing to spend long periods of time resting, for Diana it was just the opposite.  The nature of her injuries made it so that remaining stationary (sitting or standing) for long periods of time caused her pain.  She had a need to be on the move and we needed a motivated individual to cover the grounds of this expansive facility.

Happy at Work
Diana smiling on the Job!

After showing her value as a custodian, Diana was promoted to become the supervisor of this site.  In this capacity she has many duties that require her to be active and that is a perfect fit for her.  The staff she oversees requires her attention and to keep up with them, she is always on the move!

Diana says that she “likes the structure of the job and it’s close to home”.  Much of Horizon Goodwill’s territory is rural and for many, transportation is not readily available.  The logistics of simply getting to a job site can create a barrier to employment when the area you live in has limited job opportunities.  Diana is truly a perfect fit in this sparsely populated area and another example of how Horizon Goodwill’s services benefit individuals even in remote locations.

Horizon Goodwill does so much to help so many.  And there are so many more people out there for us to help!  Sometimes it just takes that first step before you are able realize your full potential.  This is why we are here.  This is what Horizon Goodwill is all about.  Removing barriers, creating opportunities.

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

BUSINESS SERVICES EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT- GARY LEWIS!

Today we will be shinning a spotlight on a very special individual that works on a contract we hold with the US Army on their base at Fort Detrick.  Gary Lewis has been working on this base for over 9 ½ years as part of our janitorial team.  With over 100 buildings and over 1,000,000 square feet of space to clean daily, these individuals have a lot of ground to cover!  As you can imagine, teamwork and ownership is critical.  The dedication and pride in the work this team performs is encapsulated in Gary. [Read more…] about BUSINESS SERVICES EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT- GARY LEWIS!

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