AmeriCorps members serving at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Rivers (GWISR) are dedicated to the Goodwill Mission: “Developing People, Changing Lives, Building Communities.” One of the biggest ways we are able to achieve this mission is by providing services that encourage economic growth and support. AmeriCorps members serve GWISR in four different career and success center locations: Albany, Columbus, Valdosta, and Newnan. Our service began in November of 2011 and will come to an end in September of 2012. Goodwill’s Career Centers provide a vast range of supportive employment services to individuals seeking career placement as well as to companies seeking qualified applicants. All services are free, open to the public, and funded through the sale of gently used donations in Goodwill’s retail stores. The centers also provide workshops focused on gaining career skills, such as interviewing skills, telephone and networking skills, dressing for success, application and resume basics, cover letter and thank you letter basics, and computer basics. We are fully committed to providing friendly, one-on-one assistance with our clients, something not all career service offices are able to do.
Through our services offered, individuals can get assistance with creating an effective resume, use computers and online job banks to search for jobs, fax and email applications and resumes, make copies, use phones to call employers, utilize staff to assist with job searches, and find beneficial programs through our community resource table. Employers can also use the center to prescreen job applicants, use classrooms and conference rooms to hold recruitment fairs and orientations, and interview potential applicants. Our primary focus as AmeriCorps members this year has been to show an increase in employment and workforce skills for military veterans and families and individuals living in rural communities. We meet these goals in a variety of ways. Each of our centers provides a job board that is updated weekly, each posting over 100 jobs available in the community and surrounding areas. The centers also provide workshops focused on gaining career skills, such as interviewing skills, telephone and networking skills, dress for success, application, resume, cover letter, and thank you letter basics, and computer basics. We are fully committed to providing friendly, one-on-one assistance with our clients, something not all career service offices are able to do.
In the time span from January through April, GWISR AmeriCorps members alone (not including regular Goodwill employees), served 2554 individuals living in rural communities and 224 of these individuals found employment. AmeriCorps members at GWISR also served 318 veterans and helped 76 of them find employment.
Classes taught by AmeriCorps members working at GWISR locations show that 93% of participants felt more empowered to participate in activities necessary to find and maintain employment and express increased confidence in resume writing, interview skills, and job search initiatives. In addition to employment services, some centers also offer classes such as English as a Second Language for non-English speaking individuals, workforce development and training programs, and financial services. Some of these programs include job coaching, custodial and retail training programs, and work adjustment and evaluation programs. The Success Center provides financial services, including assistance with applying for food stamps and Medicaid, budget creation, how to manage a bank account, and a financial services class. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) provides free tax preparation to individuals and families earning less than $50,000 per year. Several GWISR AmeriCorps members helped this past tax season by volunteering as Site Coordinators and Trained Tax Preparers. Just at the Valdosta Goodwill Career Center, over 250 tax returns were prepared with the help of AmeriCorps and community volunteers. As a result, over $ 442,000 were placed back into the community. And that’s not even including the other Goodwill sites! Anyone, no matter their economic status, background, age, educational level, or place of residency, can visit Goodwill’s Career Centers and receive supportive employment services. Once employed, these individuals contribute positively to their respective communities, easing poverty and unemployment.