Meet John

John has made a habit out of proving his doubters wrong. Born with cerebral palsy, he has always strived to prove that he can overcome his barriers and live a "normal" life. As an accomplished multiple sport athlete and coach for the Special Olympics, a devoted member of his family and a dedicated employee, John is no "normal" person, he's an exceptional one. John has worked a lot of different kinds of jobs, and after several years of frustration in the job market, John was referred by a support administrator at DCBDD to Goodwill in December of 2008. John credits Goodwill with providing him with full-time employment, benefits he wouldn't have otherwise and a job satisfaction that he has never experienced anywhere else. "I'm amazed at what all Goodwill does," John states, "I'm very grateful for the opportunity to work here."

John continues to prove to the world and himself that he can overcome any barrier set in front of him, and Goodwill has provided him with the training, work skills and support from his co-workers and friends to do just that. In closing, John says, "Goodwill has given me the opportunity to be independent and work with a team. This job has helped me learn to work with lots of different people."

Meet Rosa

When speaking to Marion Goodwill employee, Rosa, you would not sense the tremendous pain and suffering she's been through. She has a very positive outlook on life despite enduring a car accident which left her unable to walk for nearly two years. After the accident, Rosa was unemployed for five years. She stayed at home taking care of her four children while her husband worked. A divorce from her husband left Rosa with no source of income. She turned to Turning Point to get her life back in order.

Turning Point connected Rosa to Marion County Job & Family Services. She began working at Goodwill in 2007 in the Work Services Program. Participants in this program are given a chance to gain work experience in a real work environment which enables them to develop a work history.

While going through the program Rosa continued to diligently apply for jobs and was eager to work and provide more for her family. She struggled to find someone who would hire her because of her gap in employment in addition to the slight restrictions she had due to the injuries from the car accident. Fortunately, after a year of working through Job & Family Services, Goodwill was in need of a part time employee. Rosa's work ethic and dependability had not gone unnoticed. She got hired at Goodwill in 2008 and was promoted to a full time employee within a short period of time. Rosa has been happily employed at Goodwill ever since.

Meet Stephanie

Stephanie struggles, like so many others, with low self-esteem. She didn't think she could handle having a job or even be good at something. After being referred to our Workforce Development office by the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (BVR) of Delaware County, Stephanie began working with her job developer. They did an assessment at our Delaware retail store and the staff encouraged Stephanie to fill out an application. This support was all Stephanie needed. She was interviewed and hired!

She started by sorting wares that were then priced and put out on the sales floor. As Stephanie's confidence grew so did her ability to learn new things. One of Stephanie's passions is reading. With this passion came the challenge of working with books in the store. She excelled in this department. Even though she loved the challenge and she did extremely well it wasn't enough for Stephanie. Her goal was to become a cashier. As you can imagine she has succeeded at this as well.

Stephanie is a single parent of a special needs child and she wants to make her and her son's life better. She has worked hard at every task that she has been challenged with, and she has succeeded. The Delaware South store is proud say that she has been an employee at their location for three years now.

Meet Darlene

Darlene came to Goodwill through the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (BVR) in Union County. She wanted to make a career change but was afraid her hearing impairment would limit her options. Our Workforce Development Job Developer, Emily, started meeting with Darlene on a weekly basis. During one of the meetings Emily found out that Darlene had a passion for making floral arrangements. Darlene brought in pictures of some of her arrangements and Emily knew that this is what Darlene needed to do. They worked on putting a portfolio together, and with Emily's help, Darlene started applying at different floral shops in the area. After a short while, Darlene was interviewed and hired by Dublin Floral Design located on North High Street in Dublin, Ohio.

Darlene is extremely happy with her new position and her experience with our Workforce Development office. "I feel very fortunate to have Emily as my job developer. She is very dedicated to her work and her clients."