Learn the success stories about these West Michigan community members who are the recipients of The Goodwill Industries Achievers Of The Year for 2019-2020, watch the full video below.
When you think of Goodwill, the first thing pops up in your mind will probably be thrift stores. Goodwill Industries of West Michigan operates 18 retail stores and donation centers in West Michigan all the way from Manistee to Zeeland. In reality, their work is much more than just selling recycled goods at a discounted price. Goodwill help people with job training, employment placement and other support to ensure their success in their work place, changing lives through the power of work. The Goodwill Career Center, located 271 E Apple Ave in Muskegon, is a free community job resource center offering job search assistance, resume development, interview coaching, financial coaching, tax preparation services and resource referrals. During the pandemic, they also stepped up to support the community by partnering with local hospitals and health departments to collect PPE and medical supplies for health care workers.
While the previous annual achievers of the year award ceremony were interrupted because of the pandemic; therefore, this year’s award will be combined for the year 2019 to 2020. The achiever of the year recipients are Kawan, Tim, Quentin and Hailey, they have all gained employment with outstanding achievements. The volunteer of the year award goes to Susanne McGee. And the employer partners of the year are SRS Fiberglass, Northway Lanes and Billiards and McDonald’s of Hart. Quite proudly as well, Goodwill's contract partner of the year award went to Spectrum Health.
Goodwill industries of West Michigan serves people with a variety of barriers to employment, they include asset limited, criminal background, dislocated workers, developmental disabilities, psychiatric disorders, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, homelessness, substance abuse, at-risk youth, autism, welfare recipients, older workers, and others. They have served a total of 3,178 West-Michiganders in the year 2020.
