Opening Message

The Cycle of Good

by Keith T. Parker, President & CEO
Janine Anthony Bowen, Board Chair FY2020

Dear Friends,

This year brought significant and unexpected changes for all of us. As the rest of the world adjusted to challenges brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic, so did Goodwill. Although there have been many obstacles, we are proud to stand united as a team to support our community and continue our mission to put people to work.

First and most importantly, our team has remained focused on three key priorities throughout our COVID-19 response: health and safety, maintaining the mission, and keeping our team employed with benefits. Evaluating our decisions through these three lenses allowed us to make sound decisions for our team members, shoppers, donors, and job seekers at every turn.

While this year involved many surprises, we are grateful to have reached many milestones throughout fiscal year 2020.

This year marks the completion of the second year in our organization’s 2023 strategic plan. We are proud to say that we are well on our way to achieving our five-year strategic plan goal of putting 130,000 people to work by 2023. In calendar year 2019, we connected over 27,000 people with a first job, a better job, and career. This achievement skyrocketed Goodwill of North Georgia to number one Goodwill in the country for helping jobseekers become employed.

In 2020, we opened three new retail locations across North Georgia, including Alabama Road, Northridge and Duluth. Our stores continue to excel in providing a reimagined shopping experience that makes treasure hunting with us more exciting than ever. We are also extremely proud of our Old National Career Center, the first career center in South Fulton. This grand opening was a step forward in increasing income mobility for thousands of our neighbors that are in need of workforce development resources.

As the number one nonprofit employer in Atlanta, our diverse team of 3,000 employees continues to drive Goodwill into the future and allows the organization to continue to grow. Without the hard work from each of these team members, we would not have been able to serve the 50,000 jobseekers that walked through our doors or accessed our virtual career services this year.

To our supporters, thank you for continuing our cycle of good. Whether you donate, shop, or help train and employ our job seekers, your involvement is vital to our success and your continued support allows us to connect thousands with meaningful employment.

Through difficult times, we must remember that we are stronger together. We look forward to continuing to serve as a stabilizing force in the North Georgia community and will continue our mission to put people to work.


Sincerely,

Keith T. Parker, President & CEO
Janine Anthony Bowen, Board Chair FY2020

Employer Spotlight

Amazon Workforce
Staffing - ATL East Node

During the pandemic, Goodwill of North Georgia’s mission to put people to work continues. With unemployment numbers continuing to reach staggering heights, jobseekers need access to workforce development resources that can help them take care of themselves and their families.

This is not possible without the help of employers throughout the organization’s 45-county territory. One of the many businesses that Goodwill is proud to partner with is its 2020 High-Growth Business of the Year: Amazon Workforce Staffing – ATL East Node.

Amazon Workforce Staffing is a department within Amazon that hires for fulfillment centers and Whole Foods shoppers. From warehouse centers and grocery stores to drivers, Amazon employees are helping millions of customers around the world receive the items they need most. All of this would not be possible without finding great team members to get the job done.

Amazon’s partnership with Goodwill is an important one. While the company began to utilize Goodwill’s 13 career centers a while ago, the pandemic made the partnership even more essential as the need to engage with job seekers and find the right people to hire for various positions was imperative. However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges to meeting in-person for job fairs and hiring events. Utopia Daniels, a staffing coordinator with Amazon Workforce Staffing ATL East Node, elaborates on how the two organizations were able to collaborate to continue putting people to work.

Locally, Goodwill worked with Amazon to place 2,641 people in jobs, and half of Amazon’s hiring last year came from the company’s collaboration with Goodwill and its career centers.

Daniels believes the two organizations have numerous overlapping principles, including holding workforce development as a top priority. Current circumstances have caused Amazon to think out-of-the-box, and members of the Goodwill team have worked closely alongside their group to help.

Daniels’ team partnered with the Oakwood Career Center to hold a drive-up job fair in Jefferson, Georgia. The event was one of the first of its kind, with 141 job seekers signing up for text alerts to immediately apply for warehouse and Whole Foods shopper positions. Thanks to the success of unique events like these, Amazon is already planning to continue these efforts.

Daniels also connects with how seriously Goodwill takes its mission to put people to work.

Donor Spotlight

The Story of
the Missing Basket

Kathy did not know that her husband’s regular trip to Goodwill to donate items would send them on a 24-hour mission to retrieve her grandchildren’s beloved childhood basket.

It all began when the couple was at home preparing their Goodwill donations. Their bags, coincidentally, had been placed right next to the basket. Her husband gathered everything up, including the basket, without a second thought. Kathy happened to need a crayon and remembered that her grandchildren kept crayons in it. She walked over to the location of the basket and immediately became frantic when she realized what happened. She called her husband to check if it hadn’t already been donated, but she was too late. What occurred next involved numerous Goodwill team members, and a little faith.

What may seem like a trivial basket to some, meant the world to Kathy. The basket was from the couple’s travels in Uganda, and her grandchildren used it for everything from Halloween trick-or -treating to storing coloring books. It was deemed “The Belle Basket,” because it reminded her granddaughter of the basket Belle used in Beauty and the Beast.

While in a complete frenzy trying to retrieve this basket that held so many memories, Kathy reached out to Goodwill of North Georgia on its Facebook page, hoping to get a response. To her surprise, she received an answer in minutes from a member of the marketing team. “I couldn’t believe how fast I got a response,” said Kathy.

She was reassured that the team would do everything they could to find it. Managers were called, store associates were on the move, and she began to receive regular updates on the basket. Thankfully, it was found, and Kathy could breathe again! At the end of the entire ordeal, Kathy was simply thankful for Goodwill’s attentiveness.

“My request could have easily been ignored,” said Kathy.

Shopper Spotlight

Trading in Retail Prices
For Goodwill Finds

Living in Atlanta as a single woman on a tight budget, Paula was growing tired of breaking the bank for fashionable clothing at major retail stores.

She began to wonder if there was another way to achieve her chic wardrobe and randomly decided to walk into Goodwill’s Perimeter location to find out. To her surprise, she walked into a new way of shopping that day and, ultimately, made the decision to break up with department stores.

Paula began her thrifting journey in June 2014 and hasn’t looked back since. She enjoys visiting various locations in Goodwill of North Georgia’s 45-county territory to discover unique finds. As a result of her avid thrifting skills, she found treasures like brand-new Marc Jacobs pants for $5.99 and even snagged a vintage Gianni Versace blouse.

As a dedicated thrifter, Paula feels that it is her duty to clear up misconceptions about finding clothing at thrift stores like Goodwill. For her, it comes down to two things: affordability and helping the environment. Not only does she view it as having a positive impact on the environment, Paula also enjoys doing it with style. She completely rejects the notion that you can’t find quality items to incorporate into your everyday wardrobe from thrift shopping and continues to showcase how fun and easy it is every day.

Faculty Services Spotlight

Obstacles Become
Successes

The Facility Services Team at Goodwill of North Georgia continues to provide essential services to the business community.

With federal customers like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Archives and Records Administration, and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, team members are committed to serving clients with safety as the top priority. With nationwide shortages on various supplies and goods, the Facility Services team was not immune to the challenges many organizations face. The group swiftly adapted to continue providing critical services during this difficult time. For more than 30 years, Goodwill of North Georgia has provided best-in-class facility management services to hospitals, assisted living facilities, higher education, corporate campuses, and government contracts with excellence and innovation. Facility Services specializes in contracted janitorial services, grounds maintenance, landscaping, supply chain management, and building system operation and management.

Many team members were impacted by changes to public transportation routes due to the pandemic. In response, an employee fund for transportation was created at Goodwill to provide alternative options.

“Throughout the pandemic, attendance has been at an all-time high—99%” said Scott Parry, Vice President of Facility Services. “In April, the implementation of curfews and MARTA modified bus routes resulted in 60% of the team needing to adjust their schedules, and while several required additional accommodations, the majority quickly adapted.”

Safety continues to be the top priority. To ensure a safe work environment for team members and customers, over 21,000 quality inspections were completed last fiscal year, resulting in an average quality score of 97%.

In addition to helping federal and corporate clients, the team handled disinfecting all Goodwill stores, attended donation centers, and career centers prior to locations reopening. Team members, shoppers, and donors can thank the facility services team for ensuring that everyone could expect a clean and safe experience at any Goodwill location.

The numerous challenges presented during the pandemic only led to the team growing stronger, something that Parry is extremely proud of.

“The team has bonded and continues to adjust to support each other,” said Parry.

Success Story

Kendra McLeod

Kendra McLeod has grown accustomed to change. In 2013, her family moved from Baltimore to Lawrenceville. She had previously been attending a magnet school and was pursuing a rigorous course of study to help her achieve her dream of becoming a nurse.

Kendra’s journey to the magnet school involved change. Bullied in 7th grade, she was mentored by a teacher who helped guide her to a high school that would be a good fit. Her relationship with this teacher solidified her desire to work in the medical field, and by her junior year, thanks to the opportunities afforded by her school, she felt certain nursing was her calling. However, when her family made it to Lawrenceville, Kendra found herself in a radically different environment.

Kendra’s education took a step back. The academics at her new school were not of the quality she had experienced, and she had challenges securing space in the classes that were important for her next steps. The transition was jarring, and, in addition to the educational obstacles, she had to get used to a new culture.

After high school, Kendra enrolled at Georgia Gwinnett College and was pursuing her bachelor’s degree of science in nursing. When her son was born in 2016, her life changed again. Although she tried to work, care for her son, and take online classes, the situation became more than she could handle at the time. She decided to pause her educational pursuit.

In 2019, Kendra’s sister suggested that she explore Gwinnett Technical College’s Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) program, and in doing so, Kendra was referred to Goodwill to explore funding options. “I didn’t know this was a possibility,” Kendra shares. “I was so stressed as I tried to figure out childcare, transportation, and how to pay for school. The Goodwill team assured me that I didn’t need to worry–I had never heard that before. It was a real game-changer.”

Kendra appreciates everyone at Goodwill who helped her navigate the process, especially Regional Manager Quasandria Turner, who assisted with completing the necessary paperwork for enrolling in the Youth Employment Services (YES) program. While in the program, Kendra enjoyed the many tasks she was assigned in the Pleasant Hill Career Center.

In March 2020, Case Manager Toni Kareem guided Kendra to an internship at Magnolia Behavioral Health. Just as Kendra was settling in, everything changed once more due to COVID-19. Always one to look for the positive, she shared that she is grateful for the way the company responded to the pandemic and was fortunate to learn many new protocols. Her coworkers were always ready to answer her questions, allowing her to shadow and then experience hands-on learning. At the end of the internship period, Kendra was offered permanent part-time employment. She hopes to stay with the firm while she completes her studies. With the disruption many industries are experiencing during the pandemic, Kendra found her hours reduced at Magnolia Behavioral Health, so she returned to Goodwill for assistance in finding a second job to supplement her income. In July 2020, she began working at Furniture & More Liquidators as a customer service and sales representative.

Through her internship with Magnolia Behavioral Health, Kendra now realizes that she will find more fulfillment as a physician assistant and has adjusted her educational goals to that end. She’s also learning Spanish so that she can expand her career options.

With continued perseverance and hard work, Kendra is confident that she will be able to achieve all her goals.