Meet Shredderman

Local businessmen Mark Ray and Van Black wanted to do something good for their community. “What I really wanted to do was help people with disabilities and other challenges,” Ray says. Through word-of-mouth, they learned Goodwill trains people with disabilities and prepares them for the workplace. Shortly thereafter the seed for a partnership was planted.

The duo reached out to Goodwill of North Georgia, and in 2012 their company, Shredderman, became a Goodwill training site. Shredderman destroys confidential documents for businesses, health care professionals, lawyers and more. As a training site, the company provides on-site, hands-on training opportunities to help individuals improve work skills, work behaviors, and emotional and physical tolerances necessary for all types of jobs.

When Goodwill participants go to Shredderman for training, they have the same responsibilities as the employees do. When training is over, they leave with the skills they will have forever: customer services skills, the ability to interact with internal and external audiences, the importance of efficiency and the skills necessary in the manufacturing industry.

The partnership between Goodwill and Shredderman is leading to growth and financial stability for many who are unemployed in a tough job market. Instead of focusing on the negative, they focus on the impact they can make in people’s lives by working together.