Changing Lives

Goodwill of Central Iowa is Inspiring Confidence, Building Skills & Redefining Inclusion In the Workplace

You may know Goodwill as a convenient place to shop for your growing family. Maybe it’s a store you enjoy searching for unexpected treasures to thrift. Or perhaps you think of Goodwill each time you have gently-used items you no longer need. You are not alone. This is what usually comes to mind whenever someone mentions Goodwill.

But the story often overlooked is that Goodwill of Central Iowa is rooted in the foundation of providing a hand up to individuals facing barriers to securing employment.

After years of teaching in public schools, being a part of the Goodwill of Central Iowa team has become a passion for Monica McClelland Cheers. As a Skills Trainer, Monica teaches the basics of retail operations to program participants. However, the lessons explored throughout Goodwill’s six-week Retail Skills Training Program go far beyond clothing racks and color-coded price tags.

“The Skills Training Program, in practice, is much different than it appears on paper,” explains Monica. “The biggest skill we are teaching through our program is confidence.”

Following the mission of “making purposeful employment possible for all” by breaking down barriers and redefining inclusion in the workplace, Goodwill Skills Trainers like Monica are fostering the power of confidence; the confidence to learn, to grow, and to speak up. Sometimes, that confidence is seen through a Participant’s ability to meet a gaze eye-to-eye for the first time in a long time. Other times, it presents the ability to laugh, tell a joke, offer encouragement to a classmate, or form an unexpected friendship.

By working with a network of dedicated individuals within the Goodwill organization, participants gain resources, connections, and the skills to not only graduate from the program, but to progress toward greater independence through purposeful employment.

And perhaps the most pivotal part of the program is the lasting bonds forged between participants and the Goodwill Team.

Margaret Bice is a woman small in stature, but her tenacity could rival a giant’s. When she met Monica, Margaret was working in an industrial kitchen as a dishwasher. She worked long shifts and spent several hours a day in public transit to arrive at work. Once there, she worked alone.

After expressing her unhappiness with her working conditions, Margaret teamed up with Monica to be enrolled in the Retail Skills Program at Goodwill.

After successful completion of the program, Margaret decided to stay with Goodwill. She is now a Production Assistant at the Johnston Goodwill store where she also mentors others currently enrolled in the Retail Skills Training Program.

“I am Goodwill,” said Margaret as she led the way into the Johnston store. And she could not be more correct.

Margaret embodies all that Goodwill of Central Iowa stands for; the values of love, kindness, and respect. She is adored by everyone who meets her and does not know a stranger in the Goodwill family or among the thousands of customers who enter the store each week.

Through programs like Retail Skills Training, connections are made, confidence is gained, jobs are earned, and lives are changed every day.

The generous support of the Central Iowa community makes the programs offered by Goodwill possible. Whether you donate your once-loved items, shop in our stores, or make a financial contribution, you are making a difference in the lives of your neighbors facing barriers to employment. So, the next time you find a designer coat with the tags still on at your local Central Iowa Goodwill store, wear it with pride knowing that you have helped others like Margaret change their lives through the power of employment.