Goodwill of Central Arizona has seen an amazing summer so far. Our community programs and services have many success stories to tell as we continue to surpass our goals and aim toward serving more than 6,000 Arizona residents this year! Our primary fundraising mechanisms, Goodwill retail stores around the region, have also seen a successful summer in sales and growth into new communities like Gilbert and Moon Valley. We would like to thank the community for their generous donations, for shopping in our retail stores, and ultimately for supporting the mission of Goodwill of Central Arizona – to create Hope, Jobs and Futures!!

Goodwill of Central Arizona and presenting sponsor Michael A. Pollack Real Estate Investments invite you to attend the fourth annual "Evening of Goodwill".

Friday, October 29, 2004

Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort

7667 N. 16th Street , Phoenix

6 p.m. No-host cocktails & Silent Auction

7:30 p.m. Program, dinner and awards

The evening's festivities begin with a lively reception featuring the Latin jazz beats of Novo Mundo and a hunt for just the right treasure at our silent auction under the stars. Gift packages could please your palette, accent your home or rustle up your sense of adventure - some quirky, some magical, some downright "must haves". After a delectable dinner and presentation of honors, the evening ends with a lively auction of more precious treasures just waiting for the highest bidder.

We will honor individuals in the following categories for their support of Goodwill of Central Arizona and workforce development.

Up to 20 Goodwill Ambassadors will be our special guests for the 2004 Evening of Goodwill. The Goodwill Ambassador program was started this year to provide current and former workforce development program participants and charter school students with opportunities to gain leadership experience and career skills for the future. In addition to networking opportunities such as attendance at special events, they will receive public speaking training and coaching and personal career and life mentoring.

Individual tickets for the event are $200, couples are $375. You can also sponsor the attire and attendance for a Goodwill Ambassador and yourself for $400. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Income from Goodwill's retail stores covers the administrative costs of our agency, allowing us to ensure that 100% of your donation for this event funds job-related training for people with disabilities and other challenges!

Congratulations to the e-cademie Charter School staff who opened their doors for the first time on August 23, 2004! More than 80 students from across the valley are currently enrolled in the school that was created to further support Goodwill's Youth Services Programs and its mission to create hope, jobs and futures.

Serving students grades 9-12, e-cademie offers a mixture of core academic subjects coupled with a computer based curriculum. School hours are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. providing an alternative to traditional school hours for students seeking a flexible schedule. e-cademie is located in Phoenix at the Goodwill main campus.

Mark your calendars and plan to attend the e-cademie Open House. See us in our new building on October 14th, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Two Participants of Goodwill's Phoenix Workforce Connection Youth Program (PWC) and their family were recently featured in the Smithsonian magazine. The article follows the plight of the Muse Family as they make their way to America. Halima Muse (18) and Arbai Muse (16) were born in the village of Manamofa, which is southwest of Somalia. During their lifetime they have witnessed various atrocities in their villages; had their home ransacked by militiamen, made journeys on foot lasting from days to weeks in hopes to reside where there was an adequate supply of food and shelter.

After learning of an opportunity to come to the United States, the family waited for 12 long years, finally stepping foot in Phoenix on May of 2003. A year later the two eldest girls entered into Goodwill's PWC Youth Program. Amazed at the resources offered, the girls were enrolled into work readiness classes, both eager to make a commitment to attend, learn and apply themselves. Having experienced the obstacles of their native country, they would no doubt overcome their barriers to education and employment.

Completing their classes, the girls were now ready to go to work! Their choice was to work in a Goodwill store to gain experience in the retail industry. During employment they were productive and maintained a superb attendance record, demonstrated a good work ethic and were respectful of others.

The sisters are now both students at Camelback High School and interested in pursuing positions in the retail industry. Halima also assists other refugee families that are trying to assimilate to Phoenix and is called a few times a month to translate for families and instruct families on life skills. Halima and Arbai are very appreciative of living in a country where freedom and opportunity flourish. And if their words aren't enough to convince you, just look at the gratitude in their smiles.

Goodwill was at the Bank One Ballpark August 5th kicking off a 3-day long donation drive and highlighting the good work that we do in the community, where our Youth Services Program client, Andrew Jackson threw the ceremonial first pitch and "pitched a strike"!!

Now don't think Andrew's success begins (or ends!) with his great pitching arm...

Andrew enrolled in Goodwill's Phoenix Workforce Connection (PWC) Youth Program early in 2003 with a goal of pursuing a career in the engineering field. He believed a short-term goal of obtaining a job in the mechanical field would be a good stepping stone. After reviewing his options, Andrew decided on refrigeration school. Through the youth program, Andrew attended work readiness classes and attained skills through employment as a maintenance assistant at an apartment complex while he was attending school. Andrew is now successfully employed in an entry level position in his field with plans to further his education.

The more personal aspect to Andrew's story is that he had come here recently to live with his father. He has had a rough life (as so many of the youth we serve do) and had a shaky relationship with his father. Andrew's commitment to and success in our program motivated his father to attend refrigeration school as well. The two of them now have a greatly improved relationship and feel that both of their lives have been changed for the better through Andrew's participation in Goodwill's Youth Program! Congratulations to both Andrew and his father!!

Thank you to all who made Goodwill's 3-day long Donation Drive at the Bank One Ballpark a success!! It's your donations that help make the opportunities for all our "Andrews" a reality!

Temporary Employment Services Program is Established by Goodwill

Good Job. Good Fit. Good People! Goodwill Temporary Services Program is funded by a state grant program to provide temporary and temporary-to-permanent job placement for persons with disabilities and other people

with barriers to employment. The participants in this program benefit from the experience of meaningful employment and earning a competitive wage in the clerical, food service, customer service and light industrial fields with the potential for permanent employment. This program adds another Goodwill service to the community that will provide area employers with skilled employees to fill their temporary positions.

Welcome back to the Phoenix Union High School District students and staff. Main Campus full-time students began August 9th, part-time students began August 23rd and part-time students at the Thomas Road retail store location started on August 17th. This is the twenty-sixth school year of the partnership between Goodwill and PUHSD to provide Work Experience and Work Adjustment Training to students who work in retail processing to learn about the meaning, value and demands of work. Students develop positive work behaviors, attitudes, ethics and job skills, earn school credit and money during this important training. The goal of this program is to help the students gain the skills and confidence necessary to obtain competitive employment in the community by the time the students graduate. Goodwill looks forward to another super school year!

On July 21, 2004, an alternative General Equivalency Diploma (GED) program was dedicated in the Valley. Las Artes de Maricopa County is a program that targets youth ages 16 to 21 who have had encounters with the juvenile justice system and who are school dropouts or at risk of dropping out of high school. Program participants will create mosaic arts, such as memorials and road signs that will be displayed throughout the community, in combination with classes in preparation to return to high school or pass a GED test.

Special guest Governor Janet Napolitano and several members of the Board of Supervisors attended the grand opening ceremony including 30 youth enrolled in Goodwill of Central Arizona's Youth Services programs. For the first 12-week class session, four of the 12 students enrolled, came from Goodwill. Attendance has been excellent and the first group of students are enthusiastic and highly committed to learning through the program. This partnership between Maricopa County and Goodwill's Youth Services adds another tremendous resource for the youth in our community!

To the newest member of the Goodwill Team! Paul Brown came to Goodwill of Central Arizona in June of 2004 and has nearly 20 years of experience in facility and contract management. Paul's role is Vice President of Commercial Services, a position similar to the one he held for over 10 years at the Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries in Boston, Massachusetts. Paul's educational background includes a Bachelors Degree from Salem State College and Certifications from the Computer Business Institute.

Goodwill of Central Arizona's contract service program provides job opportunities for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment specifically through services to businesses in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Services include Janitorial Services, Landscaping Grounds Maintenance, Food Services, Document Destruction, Collating, Kitting and Mailing. When asked what his plans are in administering the contract services program, Paul replied "Goodwill of Central Arizona has a team-oriented culture with a very clear aggressive vision of where they want to be in the future. I'm very excited to be part of the team that will make this happen. The Phoenix area has a lot of potential in the commercial service industry that has not yet been tapped. I have begun to build and enhance my team of professionals that will be an intricate part of growing the commercial services that Goodwill can offer the community."

Goodwill is proud to welcome Paul Brown to our team! For more information on how Commercial Services can assist your business, please call: (602) 416-6205 or email: paul.brown@goodwillaz.org.

Goodwill Job Fairs Attract Over 300 Attendees!

The Workforce Development Division, with support from Goodwill's Business Advisory Council (BAC), hosted two job fairs, on May 11, 2004 at the main campus location (417 N. 16th Street in Phoenix) and on August 26, 2004 at the Peoria location (8515 N.W. Grand Avenue in Peoria). Over 250 job seekers attending at the main campus and over 60 at the Peoria location were provided with the opportunity to meet with employers from the community who were ready to accept resumes and to fill open positions!

Attendees also had access to the Goodwill Career Centers for additional employment opportunities and information about Goodwill's programs and services. Free resume workshops were also conducted by Goodwill instructors at the main campus to help job seekers improve their resumes and hone their interviewing skills. These job fairs are one of the many ways Goodwill achieves its mission to provide hope, jobs and futures!

Successful Summer Program for Maricopa Workforce Connection

"It was a lot of fun. I met new people and learned new skills, like customer service!" This is the positive feedback received from just one of the 30 youth who participated in the first year of the Maricopa Workforce Connection (MWC) Summer Youth Program through Goodwill. Youth and employers attended orientation sessions by Goodwill's MWC staff to prepare for the program and match the youth's skills with employer needs.

Throughout the four-week program, youth worked hard, overcame multiple challenges and learned responsibility in a real life work environment. The realization of the program's goals was the result of outstanding efforts on the part of the MWC staff and participating employers. The youth, staff and employers celebrated their success with an end of summer bowling party and youth were recognized for their achievements and a job well done!

The summer heat didn't stop Goodwill's retail division from bringing shoppers the opportunity to cool off each month at four new retail locations! The month of May brought west valley shoppers to the 75th Avenue and Indian School road store. June had customers cruising to the 19th Avenue and Thunderbird road location and in July shoppers chilled out at the 17th Avenue and Camelback road store. And then, just in time for August back-to-school shopping, Goodwill opened its first retail store in Gilbert at the corner of Guadalupe and Gilbert roads and even brought along an Arizona Diamondbacks player to celebrate!

All of Goodwill's retail locations offer a large selection of quality resale merchandise for the entire family including men's, women's and children's clothing, furniture and thousands of household items at "cool" bargain prices. Come check out all of our new stores and don't forget that every other Saturday we take 50% off the price of everything at Goodwill.

Goodwillaz.org has a new look

By Karin Johnson

Not only have we been busy implementing a new look to our retail stores, we've also recently launched a new look to our website! With the help of your suggestions, www.goodwillaz.org has been transformed into a site with a clean, modern appearance and easier navigation. New features have been added such as store and drop-off center locators, service interest forms and even our mission video. You'll find plenty of information on the new e-cademie charter school, Goodwill events and store specials, as well as the chance to take a glimpse of the leadership team that is taking Goodwill into the future. All this and more were designed to better serve the needs of you, our visitors. Oh, and remember to print out your $$$ money saving coupon good at any valley Goodwill location and only available at

www. goodwillaz.org!