Looking for work and facing adversity are difficult obstacles. Valuable resources, like those provided through Goodwill of Akron, helped to give 9,666 people a hand-up this past year.
With the mission of helping individuals prepare for, find, and retain employment, the nonprofit agency provided a variety of services to individuals looking for a new or better job, or the opportunity to advance toward gainful employment.
Most known for assisting individuals that have disabilities and operating a well-established donation and resale operation, Goodwill is so much more. The agency has been in the business of meeting the needs of job seekers and extending those services to the entire population for 82 years. In 2007, the agency achieved a record service number of 6,291 individuals, but surpassed that figure by an unprecedented 53.6% in 2008. Although not everyone who receives services is seeking immediate job placement assistance, the agency boasts a placement rate of 80.0% for 2008. Also, its 81% retention rate for 2008 means that most of the 1,047 individuals Goodwill placed into jobs in 2008 were still on the job after 90 days, and it is probable that their employment will continue.
In 2008, Goodwill impacted the local economy as the value of the first year's wages of individuals placed was almost $19.5 million "“ dollars that purchased food and services, and paid taxes in local communities. Beginning in 2006, Goodwill began more formally measuring its satisfaction level of participants receiving services, and in each of the last three years, it has achieved at least 93% participant satisfaction.
It is also important to note that Goodwill's business lines, which include its Contract Services and Retail Operations, are the perfect training ground for many of the participants receiving services. More than 320 program participants worked within these business operations for a total of 111,188 hours gaining valuable skills, and more importantly, an enhanced feeling of confidence and self-worth to help them become more successful in relation to their employment goals.
Goodwill Industries would not have been able to achieve these record numbers without the support and encouragement from the public's donations and its many referral sources and funding agencies including:
"¢ Summit County Department of Job and Family Services and County of Summit Board of MR/DD
"¢ Medina County Office of Workforce Development; Medina County Department of Job and Family Services; and several Medina County School Systems
"¢ Portage County Board of MR/DD; and Maplewood Career Center
"¢ Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission, its Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, and its Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired
"¢ Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services
"¢ Bureau of Worker's Compensation
"¢ Veterans Health Administration
"¢ United Way of Summit County
"¢ Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board of Summit County, and its Community Support Services
"¢ Summit County Children Services; Akron Summit Community Action, Inc.; Babcock and Wilcox; The City of Stow; The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; and many other community partners
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