It’s been nearly 18 months since Marcus Collins first came to Goodwill. Although he graduated in 2016 from Mundy’s Mill High School in Jonesboro, he felt that the technical training that was part of his high school curriculum did not prepare him to find a job. That reality led Marcus to keep in touch with his high school counselor, who directed him to Goodwill in January 2018.

Marcus exclaims that once he got to Goodwill, “Everything changed!” He met many new people, including Case Manager Kevin Hood, who immediately took Marcus under his wing. Throughout his 20 days of training he was helped by other members of Stockbridge’s Goodwill team, including Job Coach LaChanda Gillon.

Although he did well while enrolled in the training program, he did not secure employment upon completion in April 2018. By the fall, he was not ready to give up, thus leading him to return to Goodwill for additional assistance. During his second stint in training, he worked even more diligently on his communication skills, learning to talk with coworkers and to ask for help when needed.

The store manager at Goodwill’s Stockbridge location saw how well Marcus was performing at the donation door and asked him if he might be interested in joining the team. Marcus was thrilled at the offer, because he really wanted to work for Goodwill.

As a part-time employee, Marcus enjoys putting merchandise on the shelves during his shifts. His favorite task, however, is taking out the trash, because he finds it fun to dump the garbage into the crusher!

When Marcus isn’t working, he enjoys spending his time cleaning. He likes to keep things neat, and he also wants to help his grandmother around the house, since he is very grateful that she drives him wherever he needs to go.

Marcus is very thankful to have been referred to Goodwill and he often encourages others to use Goodwill as part of their job search to follow their dreams. He even shared his success story at Goodwill’s metro region graduation.