The pandemic and the economic downturn have severely damaged charitable giving in America. Despite a few bright spots and big headlines, the latest data shows a troubling decline in donations this year, with an 11 percent drop in March alone — a trend that would lead to $25 billion in lost revenue for nonprofits like Goodwill®.
Perhaps a job hunter’s biggest challenge lies in ensuring they have skills employers want and a personal network to help them market those skills to a new employer or industry. If you’ve decided to move from your past work to try something new, what’s your next step?
This week, after nearly 5 months away, I made my first trip to my local Goodwill store. Even with all the new, necessary health precautions taken on my first visit during the “new normal,” it felt nearly the same — and, in a lot of ways, better. Let me explain.
Office closures and social distancing has not stopped Congress from their ability to conduct their business, and it should not prevent advocates from engaging with lawmakers and staff. In fact, it’s more important now that constituents be able to contact elected officials and share the impact that the pandemic is having on individuals, families, communities and employers.
Weston Orf had recently been laid off from his former employer a few months before coming to Goodwill®. After initially learning about Goodwill’s digital skills training through a family member, he visited his local Goodwill organization, Discover Goodwill of Southern and Western Colorado, and enrolled in CompTIA Security+ training.
In Miami, Goodwill South Florida has teamed up with Baptist Health South Florida to create COVID-19 hospital care kits for patients who come through the emergency room or who have stayed as in-patients.
READ MORE from Goodwill South Florida Partners to Help Coronavirus Patients on the Road to Recovery
Gaps in employment are common. How can you tell the story behind them on a résumé and in your interviews?
Since shortly after the pandemic began, a group of charitable nonprofits (including Goodwill®), recognized that many organizations will be in need of various forms of federal relief as they continue to provide critical services at a time when they had to cancel fundraisers, close businesses that provide mission revenue, and face delays in contract payments among other struggles. Hundreds of organizations have since joined the effort seeking #Relief4Charities.
READ MORE from Congress is Holding Hearings, But Are They Listening?
It’s no secret that COVID-19 has affected how billions of people around the world live, connect and work. Beyond the long hours being put in by our frontline workers and the millions who are now facing unemployment, a significant percentage of our workforce has had to make a sudden transition to working-from-home. For the latter, at least, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
In an effort to provide additional community support while its retail stores are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Goodwill of Greater Washington has partnered with the Capital Area Food Bank to deliver food to local distribution centers.
