Page 77 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2017

Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi
2407 31st St., Gulfport | 228.863.2323 www.goodwillms.org
Proud supporter and business partner with GOODWILL INDUSTRIES.
1601 26th Ave.Gulfport | 228-868-2522
GIVING BACK eliminating barriers
story by Susan Ruddiman
photos courtesy of Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi
Brianna Lahoz, center, won runner-up Graduate of the Year award. She is flanked by Rita Ferguson, left, and Nicole Beals.
The job fairs hosted by the Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi are well attended. They are held at the LeRoy Modenbach Training Center on 31st Street in Gulfport.
Attending a recent town hall meeting were, from left, Richmond Vincent, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of
South Mississippi; Marie Toni Najjar, Literacy tutor of the Year; and Mitch Bauman, workforce development program manager.
The staff behind Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi have a vision to end poverty in Mississippi. To meet that goal, they offer programs that ultimately will put people to work.
“We want people to move on
and get jobs where they can take care of themselves,” said Delinda Hanson, vice president of Workforce Development.
The Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi on 31st Street in Gulfport makes use of the Leroy Modenbach Training Center for training. They also have:
• Employee Development
for Mississippi Department Rehabilitation Services referrals who have disabilities and barriers to employment. So far there have been 31 participants in 2017.
• A Community Service Program
in which referrals from the court system come to Goodwill to work off their hours. The program gives individuals the opportunity to learn marketable job skills. So far there have been 53 participants in 2017.
• HiSet, a new exam preparation class similar to GED which has now moved to computer based testing. So far 80 people have been served this year.
• Adult Education has served 28 people in 2017.
• Financial Literacy are five-hour classes open to anyone.
Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi operates 15 Goodwill stores in George, Harrison, Hancock, Jackson, Pearl River
and Stone counties. The stores are geared to re-sell donated items. The proceeds from these stores then help pay the salaries of the 300 people that Goodwill employs.
In addition, Goodwill operates Mississippi Goodworks, a subsidiary company with federal contracts. These people are put to work at Keesler, the Seabee base and two federal courthouses.
Goodwill Industries International was founded in 1902 in Boston with the philosophy of “a hand up, not a hand out.” Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi was established in 1974.
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December 2017 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 77