Goodwill Industries of Kentucky 2020 Community Impact Report

COMMUNITY IMPACT REPORT

Rising Above

2019 COMMUNITY IMPACT REPORT GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF KENTUCKY, INC.

f r o m

T H E

CEO

& B OARD

CHAI R

Dear friends, 2020 was quite the year for all of us! We had anticipated another year of great progress toward our goal of reducing poverty through the power of work when the coronavirus pandemic stopped us in our tracks. As many businesses did, Goodwill quickly closed our 65 stores, then reopened them two months later. We furloughed many employees and pivoted to provide our career services virtually and to work from home. We estimate that the pandemic cost Goodwill around $7 million.

But this crisis demonstrated Goodwill’s resilience and the “can do” spirit of our team to rise to the occasion. Despite the pandemic, Goodwill helped match job seekers with 2,412 Kentucky jobs. We assisted 862 people to remove eligible criminal offenses from their records. We placed cars and bicycles with 143 people so they could get to work and other places. We developed new community partnerships to better align our services with those of other organizations.

The good work of this team was rewarded with an unsolicited and unrestricted gift of $10 million from writer and philanthropist Mackenzie Scott. We are so grateful for this vote of confidence by Ms. Scott, and her entire gift will be used to expand Goodwill’s career services throughout the commonwealth over the next few years.

Goodwill specializes in opportunity – a second chance to move from poverty to a life with real choices.

Although this is a difficult process, it’s heartening to see so many people overcoming the barriers that have held them back and moving on to a new life. We see people getting their own apartment, buying a car, earning a credential and starting a career. We see them rebuilding broken relationships and reuniting with their children. We’re so privileged to play a small part in their journey.

On behalf of our board and staff, we thank all of our supporters who do so much to make this work possible. Together we unleash the power of work to strengthen lives, families and communities!

Many thanks,

Amy Luttrell, President & CEO Goodwill Industries of Kentucky

Charles J. Kane, Board Chair Goodwill Industries of Kentucky

WE'RE changing lives THROUGH THE

power of work.

2020

Year in Review

Hundreds of job seekers served through virtual expungement clinics As a result of the pandemic in 2020, Goodwill shifted expungement clinics to a virtual platform, which allowed us to reach more participants throughout the Commonwealth. As a result of this shift, Goodwill helped more than 700 job seekers navigate the expungement process, proving that virtual clinics are effective in helping second chance participants reintegrate into mainstream society.

We have partnered with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kentucky – in addition to many remaining partners – to continue to offer virtual expungement services in 2021.

A $25,000 investment by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Kentucky will be used to subsidize the services provided by Goodwill, partnering attorneys and staff at six virtual expungement clinics in 2021, each to be attended by 200 participants.

Goodwill’s virtual expungement clinics are in high demand due to the comprehensive expungement services provided. These services include processing of Kentucky State Police reports, extensive client follow-up and direct handling of court cases. These efforts, complemented by soft-skills training and career services, help prior offenders finding a second chance for meaningful, sustained employment.

GOODWILL TO BUILD “OPPORTUNITY CAMPUS” AS PART OF WEST LOUISVILLE EXPANSION In 2020, Goodwill Industries of Kentucky announced that we will soon call West Louisville our new home – and we are already working to become a vital part of the community. We will root ourselves in the Parkland neighborhood on a 20-acre property and aim to help support a proud but deteriorating community that has struggled to help many of its residents establish self-sufficiency. ​ ur new home on the corner of 28th Street and Broadway will eventually O consist of a new headquarters and an “Opportunity Campus” that will be designed to operate as a one-stop shop for people hoping to find services to improve their lives.

GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF KENTUCKY SUPPORTED COVID-19 TESTING FOR WEST LOUISVILLE RESIDENTS In April 2020, Goodwill joined the Mardrian Group to provide resources to support novel coronavirus testing for West Louisville residents. The drive-thru testing was administered by volunteer healthcare professionals associated with the Hope Wellness Center – a West Louisville medical office operated by the nonprofit Black Community Development Corporation. The event attracted several medical professionals who volunteered to administer the tests to local residents, all of whom were tested from their cars.

RISE PROGRAM EXPANDED TO LEXINGTON, BOWLING GREEN, PIKEVILLE Goodwill’s Reintegrating Individuals Successfully Every Day (RISE) program is a job-readiness training designed to empower individuals that have multiple barriers to obtaining gainful employment. RISE has been offered since 2018 in the Louisville area, and in 2020, we expanded our services to Lexington, Bowling Green and Pikeville!

Participants of the RISE program take part in a two-week session – now offered virtually – to learn valuable life and job skills, including financial literacy, digital literacy, communication skills, health and nutrition and behavioral health. They are awarded a Work Ready Certificate upon graduating, which helps individuals reintegrate back into employment. RISE also allows participants a chance to earn a Chromebook, a stipend and a gym membership or equipment upon graduating.

MISSION IN ACTION All Shannon wanted was a chance. Having endured the hardships that come with cerebral palsy her entire life, Shannon has gone through her share of ups and downs. She often got bored sitting at home, so she turned to Goodwill.

She completed our Soft Skills Academy and was later hired at our Shively store off Dixie Highway. She said she has felt like a valuable member of the team ever since she got acquainted with her fellow employees and the customers.

“Some people can be cruel,” she said. “I always tell them, if you all want to know anything, just ask me. I’ll tell you how I got like this. It’s no big deal. I do everything for myself. I like the job because it’s easy and it gets me out of the house. I do all kinds of work every day.”

She said it’s been difficult to work through the pandemic – because wearing a mask makes it hard to show off her smile to customers.

“They can’t tell I have a smile on my face,” she said.

“I’m always happy.”

in our stores

Ronelle Huber, a Shively assistant manager, said Shannon was hesitant about her new job at first but has blossomed ever since.

“Shannon is a true asset,” Ronelle said. “For us as managers, we get pulled in many directions, so it’s hard to be able to get to the front and greet customers. Shannon is able to do that for us and interact and just personify Goodwill in general.

She’s very friendly, she greets the customers. She goes out of her way to direct them. We just adore Shannon.”

A west Louisville resident, Shannon has faced adversity outside of her developmental disability, in the form of a lack of employment resources. She said she’s excited for Goodwill’s imminent move to west Louisville and creation of an “Opportunity Campus,” where all job seekers will be offered the resources needed to achieve self-sufficiency.

“It’s a good thing that they have programs not just for other people, but for people like me, too,” she said. “Because we all need a chance. No matter what they’ve got going on in their life, everybody needs a chance, no matter what.”

MISSION IN ACTION Josh Clemmons graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He promptly took a job within his dream career field upon graduating. His future looked bright. But in his mind, something wasn’t right.

He had struggled with substance abuse since age 16, but after just seven months in his new role, he lost control.

Alcohol and marijuana use escalated to a battle with methamphetamine four years ago. He was incarcerated for possession, and subsequently, Josh lost his job – and many of the other things he worked diligently to build. His life turned dim.

After several stints in prison, Josh had to start over. He was introduced to the Men’s Addiction Recovery Campus (MARC) in Bowling Green, where Goodwill offers soft skills classes for those with disadvantages in obtaining employment.

He’s been clean for more than two years since, and that proved to be a small factor in his greater goal of becoming an engineer once again.

Josh was in treatment in May 2019 when he met his Goodwill career coach at the Soft Skills Academy. After completing requirements for the program and MARC, he was able to begin temporary employment in just two short weeks.

with our partners

Despite his limitations his background created, he quickly found employment with a better wage. He continued to search for an opportunity to return to the engineering field, which presented itself sooner than he imagined.

Goodwill assisted Josh with his resume, interview skills and even helped him purchase necessary equipment for the position. After several interviews in which he spoke in detail about his background, Josh was earning $15 an hour with full benefits back in the career field of his dreams. He began at Scott & Ritter, known for offering job seekers a second chance, in November 2019.

“I want to keep learning every day and learn as much as I can,” he said, “advance within the company and help the company grow as much as I can.”

More importantly, Josh is growing in the process.

“We have hopes that Josh will not be a laborer forever,” said David Bayles, vice president of Scott & Ritter. “He will advance within the company and utilize his degree in the future. He can go as far as he wants to go.”

SERVICES PROVIDED At Goodwill, we are committed to helping Kentuckians who have disabilities or other life challenges find meaningful work and become self-sufficient. We have developed career-service models to assist thousands of Kentucky families in finding pathways out of poverty. Here are some of our results.

2,498

1,324,738

862

$11,244,106

$225,110

1,423

paid in tuition reimbursement to our employees

job seekers provided with job-preparation services

103

2,412

donors welcomed to our doors

wages paid to Goodwill employees with disabilities or other barriers

$12.26

average wage paid to participants placed with employer partners

individuals offered expungement support

cars, 40 bicycles placed with qualified participants

Soft Skills Academy certificates awarded

Kentuckians placed into jobs (2,073 full time; 339 part time)

BY THE NUMBERS In the 2020 fiscal year, Goodwill partnered with 751 community employers to place Kentuckians into 2,073 jobs across the state – both inside and outside of Goodwill. In 2020, we

TOTAL EXPENSES & COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT

used 88 cents of every

Total Revenue

$77,895,637

dollar in our budget to

Program Services

$53,495,430

Administrative Support for Programs

$7,134,750

fund mission-related programming.

Fundraising $373,328 Other $140,102 Community Reinvestment

$16,752,027

Net Assets

$130,706,888

2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Elizabeth Davisson

Daniel Hall

Jennifer Lindon

Douglas Edwards

Hugh Hayden

Amy Luttrell

Cherie Flueck

Dwight Johnson

Debra Murphy

Greg Gerard

Charles Kane

William Stout

Jason Groneck

Charles Lambert

Ajay Gupta

Emily Lawrence

Goodwill Industries of Kentucky, Inc. |

marketing@goodwillky.org

|

1325 S. 4th St. | Louisville, KY 40208

|

502.272.1700