My Goodwill Story – Jennifer

February is Declutter for a Cause month, so it’s the perfect time to clean out your closet and take some boxes to your local Goodwill®. When you do, you could be supporting someone like Jennifer who worked hard to advance her career, despite living through a devastating hurricane, and just needed a little extra help at the finish line. 

Jennifer was working at Walmart when she saw a poster in the pharmacy advertising a pharmacy technician training program. It was an exciting opportunity to advance her career, so she quickly signed up.  

Six months into her schooling, Hurricane Ian hit Florida, and Jennifer’s home was destroyed. She had to put schooling on hold while her family adjusted and applied for FEMA housing. Once their housing application was approved, Jennifer went right back to her training.  

After some hard work, Jennifer obtained her diploma and was hired by a local pharmacy. She started off with paid training before being assigned to a particular store but getting to and from the training site proved difficult.  

Getting a Lyft 

One day, Jennifer walked into the Community Resource Center at Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida (Fort Myers). She was there to print off her diploma, but the staff struck up a conversation with her to see if there was anything else she needed. When she shared her difficulties with transportation, Goodwill had a solution.  

Thanks to a partnership with Lyft, Goodwill was able to provide Jennifer with free ride codes to ensure she could get to her training. It was exactly what she needed to ensure she didn’t lose out on this opportunity she worked so hard for. 

With training complete, Jennifer was assigned to a local pharmacy store and is excited about the opportunities for advancement that are now available to her. While she still lives in FEMA housing, she feels confident that life is moving in a better direction now for her and her family.  

Reach out to your local Goodwill career center if you’re interested in seeing what support is available to you. 

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