In Sarasota, FL, Goodwill Manasota is working with a local woman to provide free dance classes for children with disabilities at its Honore location on Wednesday afternoons. Spaces are still available to interested local families.
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January is National Mentoring Month, a time to celebrate the contributions that mentors and mentoring programs have made to our lives and communities. Goodwill® has a long history of fostering relationships through mentoring, particularly those that promote positive outcomes for youth. Goodwill youth mentoring programs connect adult mentors with young people, including those impacted by the justice system or facing other barriers to opportunity, through engagements that emphasize positive development and career awareness activities that help youth gain confidence, avoid risky behavior, stay on track to complete secondary school, and successfully transition to postsecondary education and training.
One year has passed since many of us watched in horror as our democracy was under attack. As I reflect on that time, I looked back at the blog I wrote in the following days. It states, “This cannot be the norm, and our nation needs to begin healing. The divisiveness in our country has been festering for years and has reached an awful tipping point where people lost their lives.
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When the cold weather hits there’s nothing better than putting on a classic favorite movie and spending some quality time indoors. Winter months bring space for curling up on the couch with family and friends, a cozy blanket and a nice warm drink. It’s no wonder that one of the season’s biggest trends is bringing the spotlight onto creative drinks and drink stations – something that’s easy to transform a small corner of the kitchen into that also makes a daily ritual of pouring a hot cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate all the more enjoyable.
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As 2021 comes to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on where we’ve been, to celebrate our successes and to plan for the future. We’ve been through a lot this year as a country – an attack on our democracy, a transition in Congress and the Administration, an ongoing pandemic, damage from storms and fires, and social injustices. We’ve been through a lot as a nonprofit sector and as an organization – furloughs, declines in donations, shifts in service delivery and now staffing shortages as we begin to recover.
The changing of the seasons brings to mind a strange perception of time – especially in the wake of the last year and a half. Time sometimes seems to move so slowly, other times more so like you blink and somehow weeks or months have gone by. It can be hard to anchor ourselves in the present, especially when it can be so unpredictable, but by letting yourself focus on the small things, the little moments that together make up our lives, you might find a way to become more grounded and appreciate what’s around you right then and there in the moment.
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It’s easy to get in a style rut in the winter. It gets dark early, it’s colder, it’s cloudy and gray. And since all we want to do is curl up in blankets and drink eggnog, it’s easy to forget that anything but gray sweatpants even exist.
On the heels of Giving Tuesday, Goodwill Industries International joins our partners in the Charitable Giving Coalition in calling on Congress to expand charitable giving incentives to all taxpayers. Since 2012, Giving Tuesday has marked the beginning of the year-end season of giving, during which Americans display unmatched generosity through charitable donations.
Recently named Goodwill Achiever of the Year, Michael Blanton is a testament of hope to those looking to overcome obstacles and recreate their lives. When he was released from prison with no place to go and no money, Michael had a long road ahead of him.
As we reflect on the things for which we are thankful during this holiday season, we at Goodwill Industries International are giving thanks for you — our advocates.
