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Central and North Central Impact
Goodwill NCW. Transforming lives in our local communities.
When you donate and shop at Goodwill NCW, you support local individuals in Central and North Central Wisconsin, as they build job skills to sustain employment and improve their financial stability.
Not only are you making a local impact by helping individuals overcome employment barriers, but when you shop at Goodwill NCW, you also get to experience the thrill of the hunt! Discover that one-of-a-kind treasure, snag amazing deals that save you money, and do your part for the environment by keeping gently used items out of Wisconsin landfills.
You impact individuals in Central and North Central Wisconsin.
Every purchase provides career pathways.
Goodwill NCW reinvests an average of 90 cents of every dollar in-store sales back into our mission to provide a life-changing impact to individuals with barriers to employment.
Every donation builds job skills.
The average donation creates about three hours of job training through Goodwill NCW Employment Services empowering individuals to reach their fullest potential.
Every local community partnership creates opportunities.
Goodwill NCW partners with more than 120 nonprofits across north central Wisconsin to transform lives through the power of work.
Local Partnerships
Goodwill NCW recently partnered with the Stevens Point Area School District and the Project Life program to offer meaningful, real-world job experiences to students. Project Life is designed to support high school students with disabilities by blending classroom learning with hands-on job training in the community. Over a 10-week period, students worked at the Plover Goodwill store two to three days a week, rotating through different roles to develop their job skills and grow in workplace independence.
Participants were trained in safety procedures and gained experience in several store functions including merchandising, ticketing, hanger/sizer tasks, and greeting. Before beginning their job experience, students also went through the entire hiring process, which included learning how to fill out applications and completing necessary employment paperwork.
Through this collaborative effort, students received not only a paycheck, but also the chance to build valuable skills, explore career paths, and work in an inclusive setting that fosters growth and learning.
Meet Kyla. Overcoming Barriers and Building Skills.
As a person who uses a wheelchair and has some physical limitations, Kyla has faced barriers to employment but wanted an opportunity to build her skills and gain experience in a work setting. As a program participant at the Plover Goodwill store, Kyla has learned about the various requirements of a production role at Goodwill as well as general workplace expectations such as maintaining good attendance and focusing on work tasks.
“She is definitely an important part of our hardlines ticketing team, and it’s been great to see her independence grow in her time with us,” says Dan Ennis, Plover Production Team Leader.
Community Partnerships
Goodwill NCW Mission Relations Manager Kayla Countney and Rhinelander Mission Team Leader Leigha Plehn recently had the opportunity to sit down with WJFV in Rhinelander to talk about Project SEARCH and the impact it has in the community. Project SEARCH is a business-led work training program for individuals with disabilities. It is a nine-month program in which young adults complete three different internships within various departments with a goal of obtaining competitive employment in the community upon program completion.
Project SEARCH interns have total immersion in the workplace, which assists in the instruction and learning process. Each job site has a certified instructor and a job coach to work with the interns and the business, and the interns receive continuous feedback in order to build employability and competitive work skills.
When asked about the impact of including individual with disabilities in the workplace, Kayla stated, “Individuals can see another person for who they are, the strengths that they bring, the opportunities they have for growth like any of us do, and typically it helps to enhance the culture, and it makes the workplace that much more fruitful and meaningful to be at.”
Meet Jon. Building Skills to Achieve Sustained Employment.
John came to Goodwill NCW through Project SEARCH when he faced some barriers to sustained employment. He experienced low confidence in his decision-making skills at work and sometimes struggled in relationships with his coworkers and supervisors due to difficulties with communication. In his time at Goodwill, Jon focused on building his self-confidence in his decision-making and his social emotional skills. Since graduating from his program, he has been continuously employed for over a year and even has been recognized as Employee of the Month.
To learn more about our employment services: https://goodwillncw.org/employment-services/
