Goodwill Industries of Denver: July 2013

introduCinG GoodWill denver’s neW Ceo—stuArt dAviedoes the name ring a bell? that may be because Goodwill’s new Ceo is not new to Goodwill. he has been heading our it department since January of 2012, so chances are you’ve already seen him around—working to bring Goodwill’s it department (and Goodwill itself) to greater heights. or, perhaps you’ve seen him volunteering in the schools, helping out at retail store openings, or just cracking a joke with that charming British humor.

if you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him yet, you will soon! stuart plans to travel to Goodwill’s off-site locations to meet each of you and hear your ideas for making Goodwill an even stronger organization. Also, be on the look-out on the Blue room for a new “Ask stuart” section where you can communicate your ideas and questions directly to our new leader. While stuart has 25 years of executive-level experience, what makes him the most

ideal fit to lead Goodwill is his contagious passion for mission advancement. under stuart’s leadership, there is no doubt that Goodwill denver will continue to thrive both internally and in the community!

Youth Career Development Program

Futures ACAdemy students hAnd out sAndWiChes to the homelessin may, Goodwill students at Futures Academy participated in a community service project to hand out sandwiches to the homeless. the idea came from student erica paulsen, who once lived on the streets herself and always appreciated a warm meal! she had noticed that much of the bread donated to the school was left over and suggested to youth facilitator, ramzy Blanch, that they use it to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and hand them out to the homeless downtown. they then found other students and school staff to donate peanut butter, jelly, and their time.

twenty-five students made 143 sandwiches and 18 of the students went down to Civic Center park to hand them out. the people they gave them to were very grateful and many were impressed that a group of students would give their time and energy to do something like this. one lady even stopped erica to commend her for coming up with such a great and giving idea. “it was awesome seeing the students see a need, take responsibility, step up and help out in such a selfless way,” said ramzy. “they were paying it forward and it was a really beautiful thing to see.” Goodwill students display their passion for giving

at Civic Center park.

stuart davie, Goodwill’s new Ceo

merle mcadow

July anniversaries10 Years•  diane smith (thornton)5 Years•  malissa rodriguez (monaco)•  merle mcadow (lake arbor)•  Karianne Klenjoski (hQ)•  Connell watkins

(County line)•  romulo labasug (monaco)•  Karen mcChesney

(east high school)•  Christy Jo

(arapahoe County) •  Cheryl taylor (JfK)•  ronald remington (archer)•  steven ross (JfK)•  leslie peabody (hQ)•  tonia davis (longmont)•  tommy noe (Kearney)

Environmental Health and Safety

retAil And operAtions teAms Compete to BeCome sAFety GrAnd ChAmpionto spread awareness of the importance of working safely in the stores and operations departments, the eh&s (environmental health and safety) department is kicking off a new safety awareness and recognition program with a competition. From July 1 through november 30, teams from retail and operations will compete toe-to-toe as they try to become Goodwill denver’s first-ever safety Grand Champion!

the safety Grand Champion for 2013 will be awarded to the team that has the most accident free days (oshA recordable), the best overall safety record and the highest quality accident reports. Winners will get various prizes from a traveling trophy and a plaque in the headquarters lobby, to a special meal and individual certificates, badges and other accolades. look for updates in the Blue room and root for your favorite team!

Marketing

GoodWill BillBoArds displAy duAl messAGe in unique WAyhave you seen our new billboards around town? if you didn’t catch them when they were first put up—they’ve changed! the billboards were designed to initially promote messages that people already know about Goodwill (that we have great deals, are unique, and can save shoppers money), but then two weeks later the messages were converted (overnight!) into powerful facts about our mission. the messages in their final stage are also advertised on buses and light-rails. Watch for them while you’re out around town!

Goodwill’s new billboards add splashes of color around town.

Did you know? Goodwill’s new Greeley store in the Centerplace shopping Center will be opening on August 24.

Goodwill’s Good Bikes program is participating in two different programs this summer:

Bike to Work Day: on June 26, two participants along with employment training specialist, nick Willis, kept busy doing minor bike repairs for Bike to Work day participants who stopped by Goodwill’s booth in Civic Center park. At the booth, the marketing department handed out fliers about the Good Bikes program, along with Goodwill-branded coffee mugs to the first 500 people who stopped by the booth. (the mugs were gone by 7:30 a.m.!) An estimated 1,000 people were in attendance at Civic Center park and 750+ of them stopped by the booth by 9 a.m..

Gears & Gardens Program: Good Bikes is also partnering with the youth Career development program this summer for their Gears & Gardens program. twelve Goodwill students participate in the Gears & Gardens program in which they spend one day a week working on gardening projects at Gabrielle’s Garden in denver and one day a week learning basic training on bike safety, repair and maintenance from nick. the program is designed to introduce students to useful skills, expose them to possible careers such as farming, gardening, mechanics, and entrepreneurship, and give them the opportunity to give back to their community. the students get to keep the “Good Bike”, and a bike helmet, at the end of the 7-week program.

Goodwill students work on gardening projects as part of the Gears and Gardens program.

nick willis and the Good Bikes team perform repairs for Bike to work day participants.

Adult Career Development Program

GoodWill CAreer ConneCtion Center oFFers neW trAininG proGrAm in Food serviCethe Career Connection Center at place Bridge Academy, which provides specialized employment training to refugee and immigrant job seekers, launched a new training program in october for participants who enjoy cooking or have skills in restaurant management. this training covers topics such as kitchen safety, sanitation, planning meals, and budgeting. eight women participated in the first 13-week training program, during which time they set up an international café at place Bridge Academy and served lunch to the teachers at the school.

through this experience, the women not only discovered a potential new career path, but for four of the women the experience was particularly empowering. After the training at place Bridge Academy, the four women went on to attend Commercial Food safety and service training through place Bridge’s partner organization, the African Community, who collaborates with the university of denver for the program. since completing that training in June, all four have been hired by Aramark or the sheraton hotel. Congrats to the place Bridge Career Connection Center for developing yet another successful program that puts adults on the path to self-sufficiency.

A Career Connection Center participant prepares desserts as part of her training.

Community Employment, Youth Career Development Program, and Marketing

Good Bikes kiCks it in hiGh GeAr

goodwilldenver.org

Goodwill denver honored for multiple awardsCongrats to the various Goodwill employees who have been recognized recently for their achievements. Joyce schlose, vp of workforce development, won Goodwill international’s 2013 watkins award for excellence in mission advancement. stuart davie, former vp of it and new Ceo, was a finalist for the Colorado Cio of the Year award, sponsored by the denver Business Journal and Colorado Chapter of sim (society for information management). and Goodwill’s marketing team won three peak awards from the Colorado american marketing association, including a gold award for its annual impact report, a gold award for its déjà Blue Boutique branding campaign, and a silver award for its halloween-themed digital ads.

Retail and Loss Prevention

Finders, keepers… not For these employees!ever wonder what happens to money that is accidentally donated to Goodwill? it is the policy of Goodwill that any cash that is found in donated items be turned into management. the money is then given to the accounting department where it is held for 30 days. if no one claims it, the money is credited to the employee Assistance Fund. you’d be surprised at how often this actually happens, and not just with cash but also social security cards, passports, birth certificates, and more. A night supervisor in the Coal mine store found a money belt in a fitting room that had someone’s social security card, credit cards, medical cards, and driver’s license in it— in addition to $62 in cash and three blank, signed checks!

When the store employee turned in the belt, stan smith, director of loss prevention, was able to track the address of the shopper down—but the story doesn’t end there! When he went to the address, he was told by the woman who answered the door that the money belt belonged to her elderly mother who wasn’t supposed to be driving. she had swiped the car keys, her driver’s license, and her money belt and snuck out to shop at Goodwill, all unbeknownst to her daughter! the daughter was very appreciative about the return of the money belt and its contents. And the Goodwill night supervisor who found the belt? he is now the assistant store manager at lake Arbor. the promotion was totally unrelated to his turning the belt in, but it just goes to show that what goes around comes around!

A big thanks to these honest employees for turning in cash and making a positive difference.

left: Boulder processors, Juana Alvidrez and Guadalupe Garcia both found cash in donated clothing.

Below: Coal mine processor my tran and store manager nicole dante. my tran found cash in donated clothing.

Bottom: lake Arbor assistant manager, Joseph shaffer, found a money belt in a fitting room while working at Coal mine.