Category: The Goodwill Blog

On May 22, nearly 40 international MBA students spent the day touring Goodwill of Central Arizona’s (Phoenix) retail and mission services operations. The students, who visited for a week as part of the HEC Paris Executive MBA program, toured one of the Goodwill’s nearly 60 retail stores to observe front-end retail operations and behind-the-scenes merchandise processing. They also visited the agency’s retail operations center to view the clearance center, recycling and salvage processing, and the on-site Goodwill Career Center.

READ MORE from International MBA Students Go Behind the Scenes of Phoenix Goodwill

If I had a magic wand, after winning the lottery and achieving world peace (in that order), I’d shift the debate about poverty reduction from “did these investments work?” to “how can these investments work better?”

READ MORE from To Break the Generational Cycle of Poverty, Look at the Whole Picture

Mike from Chicago asks, "My coworker pulled me aside the other day and told me my negativity was bringing everyone down. I can't change my entire personality for them, but are there small things I can do to make our working relationship easier?"

READ MORE from Attitude Is a Big Dog That Must Be Tamed

Rising high school seniors have the opportunity to explore careers in aerospace manufacturing by participating in one of Seattle Goodwill's (WA) newest programs. The Youth Aerospace Program consists of service learning, civic participation, team building, and college and career readiness activities over the course of two years to prepare students for their senior year and for work.

READ MORE from Seattle Goodwill Manages Youth Aerospace Program

The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program provides employment and support services to people with disabilities. Seen as having achieved mixed results, this year Congress is likely to reauthorize the nation’s job training program through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which would impact VR.

READ MORE from Major Provisions of Title IV in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

Katie from Nashville, TN, asks, “I’m job hunting and attending lots of career fair and networking events. A friend told me I should get business cards to hand out to people, but I don’t know where to start. Can you help me?”

READ MORE from Networking Cards: The Pocket-sized Résumé

At this year’s SourceAmerica conference, a number of Goodwill agencies took home or nominated their customers for awards related to the AbilityOne program. Goodwill partners with AbilityOne to obtain federal contracts for custodial, grounds keeping, laundry, manufacturing and other services, all of which are predominantly fulfilled by a workforce of people who are blind or have significant disabilities.

READ MORE from Goodwill Celebrates Employment Success with AbilityOne Awards

Time is melting away on the 113th Congress. Just a few short weeks remain to take care of business. The House is scheduled to be in session 38 more days until the fiscal year ends on Oct. 1, 2014; the Senate for 51. And there is much to be done in those critical days.

READ MORE from Tick, Tock … The Congressional Clock Is Running Out

Max from Albuquerque, NM, asks, “I just received a great job offer in a field I’m interested in, but here’s the catch—it’s a night shift job. I want the position, but working at night would be a big change for me. Any suggestions or advice?”

READ MORE from Day to Night: Ways to Ease Your Transition to Shift Work

Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey (Astoria) recently engaged in an exclusive partnership with the popular ride-sharing app Uber. The two organizations provided New Yorkers with an opportunity transport their gently used items to a nearby Goodwill retail store without having to step foot inside a subway.

READ MORE from New York City Goodwill and Uber Partner for Donation Delivery

Lupita Flores attended Goodwill Industries of Southern Arizona (Tucson)'s Ready to Learn program after being unemployed for two years. Her employer of 13 years laid her off when its office closed. The Goodwill trained her for call center work, and she was pleasantly surprised to find that her customer service background made it a perfect fit.

READ MORE from My Story—Lupita Flores

When I talk about the importance of being engaged in public policy despite partisan gridlock, I often talk about one of my kids’ favorite Dr. Seuss stories, called “The Zax.” In the story, a north-going Zax and a south-going Zax encounter each other in the Prairie of Prax. Rather than stepping an inch to the west or an inch to the east to allow both Zax to continue their journey, they square off and stubbornly hold their ground.

READ MORE from Remember the Zax!