As a former stay-at-home mom, Mia Hooks enjoyed finding good deals on items for her household and thrifting at Goodwill. Unbeknownst to her, she would one day become a success through the Goodwill® mission Hof helping people connect with skills training and find meaningful jobs.
As Mia was shopping at a Goodwill of North Georgia store in Smyrna, she noticed a flier promoting Goodwill’s technology training program. This was very interesting to her, as she had goals of working in the IT industry and wondered how Goodwill might be able to help.
Mia visited the career center inside the store to learn more. She was thrilled to find out that she qualified for funding through SNAP Works, Georgia’s education and training program for those receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Through the support of Goodwill of North Georgia and SNAP, she was able to overcome one of her biggest concerns with returning to work — finding affordable childcare.
Mia entered into the Technology Career Program, and she received more than just training in the tech industry. She took advantage of opportunities that supported her professional development, including getting a headshot taken.
She worked hard to learn new skills while balancing the new responsibilities of work and home. “I am proud of myself and how I developed a strong work ethic and the discipline required to study and to work remotely,” says Mia.
Toward the end of Mia’s training, she had the incredible opportunity to meet with a team from Google through the GoogleServe program, where she received job readiness training and one-on-one advice from leaders in the tech industry. Feeling inspired, Mia was ready to return to work, and she accepted a full-time role as a PC technician. She knows this is just the beginning and continues to advance her skills with additional online courses.
Goodwill and Google are proud partners in bringing digital skills to millions of Americans. In addition to collaborating on several Google Career Certificates, Goodwill’s mission was also recently supported by the Google.org Fellowship program. Through this volunteer program, a team of Google.org fellows helped to redesign Goodwill Industries International’s website, Goodwill.org. Thanks to a new, easy-to-navigate style, more job seekers and career advancers are able to be matched up with Goodwill career centers near them and access online support.
