My Story

My Story: Rudy Batilla

I had problems finding a job. Then Goodwill® of San Antonio came around. They really helped me to get on my feet by giving me the training I needed. But that’s not all – they then helped me understand how to manage my finances.

I had a vision for my future and wrote it down. I shared that vision with my case manager at Goodwill. My credit score was terrible – in fact, it was 535. With Goodwill’s help, I eventually earned a score of about 730. That help included a three-day class that taught me about finances and improving my credit.

My Story: Julie Stewart

My background is as a hairdresser for 38 years, but I have a bad back and can’t stand a long time anymore. I spent some time traveling in a motor home, selling at flea markets, but that was getting very difficult, and I wasn’t making enough money.

Through social security, I got a low-income apartment. I felt that I didn’t have a life, and that I would like to work. I went into the manager of our apartments and I asked her what I could do so that I could work without my rent going up. She told me about Goodwill Industries® of New Mexico.

My Story: Christopher Parker

Before Goodwill Industries® found me, I was a mess. I was lost, I was confused, and I didn’t know what I was going to do day in and day out. I’ve been through a lot, but one of the biggest things that I’ve been through was losing my mom at the age of 15. She raised me right, and she was my best friend—nothing compares to her.

From ages 15 to 19, I lost my focus. I lost hope. I was raised in church, but I wasn’t walking on that path. My two options were either jail or death. When I was 19, I had a daughter, who is now three years old. She brought me back my focus, but she wasn’t my main priority starting off, just because I was confused and I didn’t know what I was living for.

My Story: Daisy Latimore

I am the owner and operator of Daisy’s Unique Chocolates. In the year 2000, I was being downsized from corporate America for the third time. I wanted to start my own business. I had already been doing gift baskets as a hobby, and someone told me about the Business NOW program at Goodwill Industries® of North Georgia (Atlanta).

The program teaches you how to write a business plan, how to develop your business, and how to do research and development. As part of my business plan, I wanted to add chocolates with my gift baskets and, in May, I will open my first retail location.

My Story: John Wilkerson

I started working with Goodwill Industries® of Middle Tennessee back in 1992 in the donations department. One of the things I like about working at Goodwill is we’re not only making money for the mission — instead of losing money throwing things away — but we are also are helping the environment because we don’t have so much stuff going into the landfill.

People give us these things hoping we’ll make good use out of them, and that’s what I like seeing done. These items at one time meant a whole lot to these folks that gave them to us.

My Story: Phil Jellen

Joining the AmeriCorps Program through Goodwill Industries® of Northern New England (Portland, ME) has been a step in the right direction for me. The AmeriCorps program gives idealistic people an opportunity to put their visions into practice, and in so doing, gain a more realistic working concept of how to create change.

I came to the conclusion that I needed to stop waiting around for leadership from others and, if I wanted to see any change, I’d have to do it myself with members of the local community. I was given a chance to put my ideas into practice through my position as community programs and volunteer coordinator.

My Story: Barbara Delbridge

I came to be involved with Goodwill Industries® Serving Central Virginia and Hampton Roads in 2006, when I came home from a correctional facility. I had to apply for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) services because I had no income, and no means to take care of my daughter and myself. Upon getting TANF, they introduced me to the Transition to Independence and Employment (TIE) Program, which was located inside the Goodwill Industries.

I stayed in the TIE program for three weeks, and that’s when I sought employment working in the production area of Goodwill’s main plant, where I priced items for retail stores. I stayed there a little over a year. Now I am the One-Stop Career Center liaison for the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and I also do outreach service for state and federal correctional facilities.

My Story: Jamal Leary

I’ve been going to Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries’ Fresh Air Camp for about eight years now — almost my whole life. I started off as a camper and then moved up to a counselor in training (CIT).
This camp has helped me in many ways. It taught me how to be more independent. This camp gave me a chance to meet new people with different personalities. It’s a whole new experience being away from home, and doing and seeing things I thought I would never have done or seen. So much to do: so many activities, so much food, so much fun and so much time not being wasted at camp. What else can you ask for as a child?

My Story: Michael Bulling

My mother calls me the five million dollar kid — starting with the umbilical cord around my neck that forced me to be born three months premature at one-and-a-half pounds. Within a couple of weeks, I was already diagnosed with a disability.

My story is not a sad story—it’s an uplifting one. My mother always said to me I could learn new things. She is right. No matter where you come from, it’s where you’re going that really counts. No matter the disability, we all need to be treated equally. It was through a friend I found out about Tacoma Goodwill® and the help it gave.

My Story: Sandra Martin

When I lost my eyesight at age 22, it was hard. My baby was only six weeks old. I wasn’t prepared. It was a very difficult time in our lives, but she’s what kept me going — nobody was going to be her mom but me. When I was 38 years old, my husband left. I had no employment and had not worked for 16 years.

Someone came up to my daughter and said to her, “I think you and your mom need to go get an apartment together.” My poor daughter said, “I don’t want to live with my mom for the rest of my life.” I don’t think she realized how that hit me. That’s when I decided to go out and get as much rehabilitation as I could.