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.
My Story: Brian Addison
I spent over ten years in the U.S. Army as a military policeman. Several deployments made me face difficult situations, but didn’t prepare me for the civilian world and the challenges I would face there.
When I left the military in 2001, I had several jobs in the restaurant field but was unable to maintain any of those jobs for a significant period of time. I began using drugs and alcohol to deal with my mental issues and to cover up feelings of doubt, displacement and anger.
My Story: DeWarren Carter
I was initially incarcerated in 2004. During my incarceration, I did a lot of self-studies as far as my reading and writing — different things that would help me prepare for my release. I focused a lot on what I would have to do to prosper. I knew I was going to be low on finances when I got released, but that wasn’t deterring me.
In 2008, I was at a minimum security prison, and I heard about Goodwill Industries® of Northwest North Carolina’s Project Re-entry. I entered Project Re-entry not knowing what to expect. I was doing carpentry, writing and dog-training classes — different things that I thought would help me prepare for release. I learned how to budget my money and time, how to present myself to employers and how to carry myself all around.
My Story: Richard Castillo
In 2008, I moved from Connecticut to Athens, GA, after separating from my wife. I moved to be closer to my daughter. Being new to the Athens area, finding a job was hard. One of my friends told me about the Goodwill® of North Georgia Career Center. He told me that they could help me with my job search.
When I visited the career center, I was greeted by Gilbert who was fluent in Spanish. He explained to me all the services that Goodwill offers. Gilbert mentioned that Pilgrim’s Pride, a local poultry company, was hiring. He helped me put a résumé together and told me how to apply. I got the job at Pilgrim’s Pride.
My Story: Alfreda Hensen and DeeDee Johnson
Alfreda Hensen: I’ve been working here for 17 years. I started with the training program.
DeeDee: She went through the program to show her how to get into the work world and how to adjust to new environments. Alfreda is a self-motivated employee that comes in every day knowing exactly what needs to be done. She started out as a floor attendant and then went on to be a sorter and a tagger.
Alfreda: Goodwill® means that I can be independent, can work and get the things I need.
My Story: Dawn Baxter
Amy Kieckbusch: Dawn started with Goodwill® five years ago in the janitorial training program. She is in a motorized wheelchair, and so that is of the biggest barriers that she faces. She worked a few months in that program where they trained her on some basic janitorial kind of tasks and worked with her to figure out what is she able to do. They focused on the areas she could perform and trying to master her in those areas.
Dawn Baxter: I learned how to clean. I’d never cleaned anything—I’d never cleaned a bathroom, I’d never cleaned a sink. Goodwill helped me adapt to clean and learn what the proper protocol, what the proper chemicals are and what not to mix together.
