GOODWILL ANNUAL REPORT
Goodwill Participants Transform Their Lives Through the Power of Work
December 4, 2009
Dear Goodwill friends:
We all want to hear positive stories of people and programs that are working and lives that are being transformed, especially as we approach the end of this very challenging year. I have a great one to share! This is the story of Goodwill’s impact on a young man named Craig Bolland. It is also an invitation to create opportunities for others like Craig to undergo a personal transformation.
A couple of years ago, Craig was convinced his days were numbered. He was addicted to drugs, broke, homeless (when he wasn’t in jail), and alienated from family and friends. “I assumed that I’d overdose or die on the street,” he says. “Sometimes, that’s what I wished for.”
Today, Craig marvels at his good fortune: he’s reunited with his family he has a job he loves, colleagues who count on him, a bank account, and a place of his own. He’s also clean and sober. The greatest change, however, is even more obvious: He now has self-confidence and a sense of purpose.
Craig credits Goodwill with the turn his life has taken. He stopped using drugs and was looking for work when he heard about Goodwill’s Sales and Service Training Program. He applied and was accepted at Goodwill’s Fillmore store. Participants receive paid, on-the-job training for jobs in the retail and hospitality industries. Craig was also one of 58 Goodwill employees who participated in the Engaged Employment Program, a partnership between Goodwill and the nonprofit Springboard Forward. Springboard Forward's program helps low-wage employees develop job and career advancement skills, while helping employers build a more productive and stable workforce. Craig says, "My complete worldview and my view of the future have changed. The Springboard coaching program helped me see what I could have in the future."
For Craig Bolland, having a future at all — never mind a great one — is something he doesn’t take for granted. Thanks to Goodwill, he now has the tools he needs to build that future: solid skills, a paycheck, and a sense of community. “Goodwill gave me my hope back,” he says. “Now it’s up to me.”
I’m gratified when I see people such as Craig transform their life, and I hope you are, too! Please join us in creating opportunities for more people like Craig by making a personal, tax-deductible gift of $50, $100, $250, $500 or more by December 31. Your gift will help support programs that can help hundreds more people like Craig become productive, contributing members of our community. Together, we can make a difference in lives, and for our community. I hope you will use the enclosed envelope to send your gift today.
Sincerely,
Deborah Alvarez Rodriguez
President and CEO
P.S. Click here if you would like to make a secure, online donation. You can also sign up for e-alerts by filling in the form on the homepage of this website.
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