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Our training programs help people get jobs.
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Our stores provide good things at good prices.
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Our youth programs make the future brighter.
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Just as there are things you recycle, there are things you donate.
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Goodwill, not landfill.
Business Services
Goodwill collaborates with business partners to provide employment opportunities for job trainees.
Leo Purcell: The Life-Changing Connection
Leo Purcell: The Life-Changing Connection
A wonderful example of the success of Goodwill’s social enterprise programs is Leo Purcell who is now a team leader in Goodwill’s Somerville store. "I don’t know what I would have done if it hadn’t been for Goodwill," he says. "You see, it all happened because, well, because I had some trouble with the law. Nobody would hire me. Nobody. I tried everywhere and everything, but I couldn’t get a job."
But then the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission referred Leo to Goodwill. "That’s when I got a break because Goodwill didn’t turn me away like the others. They gave me a chance," he says. After going through a job readiness training course, Leo gained on-the-job training working in Goodwill’s Distribution Center for a year and a half. "It was well worth it," he recalls. "A lot of people helped me, especially my case manager."
Leo’s second break came when Goodwill was able to place him in The Goodwill Store in Davis Square in Somerville. "It was pretty hard at first," remembers Leo. "I had to learn how to deal with customers, something that was new for me. But I worked really hard and Goodwill saw that. They saw that I had grown up and was serious about my job. In six months I was promoted to team leader!"
Today, Leo is happy and enthusiastic about his work. He says, "I’m not in trouble any more and I feel good about my life now. Goodwill gave me the chance I really needed. I’m so grateful that they helped me change my life!"
Did you know?
The Goodwill Stores are run as social enterprises, meaning they support Goodwill’s mission to provide job training for individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment while also providing jobs and good quality, low-cost goods to individuals and families looking for value.
Rugenia Zimmerman: The Career-Course Connection
For Rugenia Zimmerman, the recession was a wake-up call. She had been working in the healthcare field for 25 years and knew that caring for people was her passion. But she also knew that losing her job as a patient observer at a local hospital was a very real possibility due to cutbacks and layoffs. Wisely, Rugenia sensed it was time to look into job training options that would help her transition to a better job with more security. She found out about Goodwill’s Human Services Employment Ladder Program (HELP) and enrolled. For Rugenia, this eight-week class that prepares individuals to work in the human services industry was just the ticket she needed to advance in a line of work she already loved.
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