Success Stories

My Story: Caitlin Omness

I’m a cashier at the Marion Goodwill Industries® in Sunbury, OH. I started working with Goodwill in June of 2009. I have cerebral palsy and I use my power wheelchair to help reach the cash register and do other things around the store.

I like being a cashier because I like helping people, and I also love the people I work with.

I am also a junior at Wright State University majoring in middle childhood education, and a part of the mentor program, where I mentor up to three mentees a year.

My Story: James Draper

When I graduated from Fanshawe College with a marketing diploma in 2001, I looked forward to embarking on a career in my chosen profession. I searched the job boards and sent out résumé after résumé – without success.

There just weren’t a whole lot of marketing jobs out there. I took any position I could find in order to make ends meet. My self-confidence took a big hit. I was dealing with so much underemployment that I gave up on myself in many ways. In 2007, I stumbled upon an online ad for the Ontario Job Creation Partnership Program and was offered a one-year marketing contract with Goodwill Industries®, Ontario Great Lakes as a marketing specialist.

My Story: Michael Ferguson

I am an AmeriCorps member with Goodwill Industries® of Middle Georgia and the CSRA. I couldn’t have asked for a better position than being an AmeriCorps member and a Goodwill® employee, since they both have very rich histories of service in the community. I come from a background of dealing with nonprofits, so it was a really good fit for me.

My current day-to-day duties are serving as a student advisor to the students within the Helms Career Institute. We have a culinary program, a carpentry program and a sanitation program. By taking a position with the Helms Career Institute, I also got the opportunity to be a part of history. We are in the process of getting accredited to become an educational institution, so it is interesting being a part of that.

My Story: Billy Rife

I’m 37 years old, and I’ve had a visual impairment since birth. Through the years of my life, I’ve overcome a lot of challenges, obstacles and barriers that visually impaired, blind or other people with disabilities face in their lifetime.

For the past many years, I’ve encountered many different job opportunities and interviews that fell through. Sometimes, I would be interviewed and they had already hired some people. Employers said they would get back to me and they never did.

My Story: Richard Rickus

My military career started at the age of 18 when I got a letter from President Johnson informing me that I was needed for service to my country. On the morning of April 3, 1967, a landmine was detonated under my vehicle. For wounds received in combat, I was awarded my first Purple Heart. I returned to the war and on December 9, while out on patrol, I was shot in the left hand – which earned me my second Purple Heart award.

When I returned from the war, a former employer rehired me, and I had a successful career in middle management. After 18 years, I retired as a financial accounting administrator and, with three small children, relocated to Cape Coral, FL.