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A MESSAGE FROM DARYL AND AMELIA

Dear Goodwill Community,

As we look back on our work and share the positive impacts you’ve made possible, it goes without saying that 2020 was a difficult year. All of us are experiencing the effects of current health and social crises in our lives and have had to make adjustments; the same is true for Seattle Goodwill. But we persevered through the hard times. We provided much-needed support services, trained over 4,300 students and employees, and placed 541 people in jobs.

We’ve launched a strategic vision that focuses on growing our mission to serve more people than ever before, including Goodwill employees. When the pandemic forced us to change every aspect of our operations last March, we immediately reprioritized many of our future strategic goals, including supporting employees with mission services during our shutdown and launched our first online education for Goodwill students. 

For Goodwill students, this meant delivering our mission in a completely new way. We focused on digital equity and transitioned our Job Training and Education classes to an online format to optimize safety and assure continued learning. We loaned 166 tablets so that students could stay connected to their training and other resources during the pandemic. We also made sure they had internet access, and we provided Wi-Fi and tech support. In total, we invested over $1.46 million in direct and leveraged support services for Goodwill students and employees, including technology. 

For employees, we prioritized their health and safety. We temporarily restructured our Job Training and Education department so that staff could provide support services to over 2,000 employees and deliver more than $100,000 in assistance for things like rent, medical bills, and food – all virtually. To stay connected with our employees throughout this crisis, we’ve maintained regular communications and expanded the ways we reach out to them, including adding social media channels and live streaming events. To maximize safety in our operations, we’ve systematically implemented measures for every work role and every job task to protect our people. Altogether we’ve invested more than $850,000 in increasing safety for our community during the pandemic.  

Our services are more critical than ever to help our community cope, recover and rebuild. As this health crisis continues, unemployment remains high, and social, racial and economic disparities continue to widen. And as we have done for nearly 100 years, Seattle Goodwill will deliver the help and support people need to overcome barriers and achieve family-sustaining employment.

Goodwill students and employees speak many different languages and come from many different backgrounds. They come to our doors determined and hopeful to make their lives better. The people who enroll at Goodwill often come having experienced great adversity and devastating circumstances, yet they are determined to work hard to improve their lives. In this report, you’ll hear about two students, Inci and Chynna, who each show great strength and determination to overcome difficult challenges and create a path to meaningful work and better opportunity.

You’ll also learn about the achievements and gains of Goodwill students throughout our region and see how the support of our generous partners and donors makes our mission possible.

Despite the challenges we’ve faced recently, Goodwill is still going strong! We positively impact the lives of students and our community and are inspired by the resolve and strength that this Goodwill community shows day in and day out. As we move ahead into this next year and look forward to brighter times, we’ll keep doing exactly that. We thank you very much for your support of people like Inci and Chynna, and all the work we do at Seattle Goodwill!

Daryl Campbell President & CEO	Amelia Ransom Chair, Board of Directors

INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS CREATE ACCESS
FOR THE GOODWILL COMMUNITY

In the early stages of the pandemic, when all of our lives were turned upside down, businesses worldwide were trying to minimize disruption
and focus on serving customers. On top of this, organizations had to grapple with constantly changing information to find ways to keep both
their customers and their employees safe. For our local partner T-Mobile, this meant springing into action to meet their customers’ evolving needs during this crisis.

“It quickly became clear that many of the customers and community groups we serve needed guidance on how to navigate the pandemic
beyond getting technology,” said Tamara Chamberlin, Vice President Enterprise West at T-Mobile. “We also needed to help our customers
decide when and how to use technology to rethink their operations to stay safe and successful.”

Staying safe and successful was Goodwill’s focus too, and we were looking for solutions to deliver our mission effectively to meet the
burgeoning needs of people impacted by the pandemic. When we told T-Mobile about plans to pivot towards more online education,
they saw an opportunity to help—not just to support us as a customer, but to help support Goodwill students.

To ensure that students have access to a reliable internet connection and a suitable device for online learning, T-Mobile helped us with a
deeply discounted high-speed data plan and provided us with 144 data-enabled tablets that we could loan to students and employees.
These tablets have been a lifeline to many people to attend class and gain access to other critical services and benefits that have moved
primarily online during the pandemic.

Digital literacy is a basic skill everyone needs to be successful in both life and the workplace. But we have to do more than prepare people with basic digital literacy,” said Eileen Aparis, Vice President of Mission at Seattle Goodwill. “We have to create equitable access to technology. If we don’t, we know that we will see larger disparities in the digital divide, especially for many communities of color.”

Through partnerships with value-driven organizations like T-Mobile, we can help bridge the digital divide for our Goodwill community.

“When it comes to seeing the bigger picture and addressing societal needs like responding to the digital divide in this country, Seattle Goodwill leads by example,” said Tamara Chamberlin. “T-Mobile is equally passionate about this issue. Our alignment of vision makes us stronger."
 

IMPACTS AND OUTCOMES

RESILIENCE, CLARITY, RESOLVE:  MEET INCI

Meet Inci! For years, Inci had worked tirelessly in a job with limited advancement opportunities. She knew she was ready for a career change, so she enrolled in Goodwill’s free Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training (PACT) program – an 11-week course that prepares individuals for a career in the building and construction industry. Read her full story here: https://seattlegoodwill.org/blog/566-meet-inci-resilience-clarity-and-resolve

RESILIENCE, CLARITY, RESOLVE:  MEET CHYNNA

Meet Chynna! When Chynna first moved from the Philippines to Seattle in 2013, she felt self-conscious about her English-speaking ability and found the idea of starting a new career in a new place nerve-racking. She enrolled in Goodwill’s free Retail & Customer Service course. The class helped Chynna develop new job and people skills, and created a community environment that built her confidence. Now, we’re honored to have Chynna on the Goodwill team in her leadership role as a Production Supervisor at our Capitol Hill store. Read her full story here: https://seattlegoodwill.org/blog/564-meet-chynna-building-confidence-through-career-training

HUMAN SUSTAINABILITY IN OUR COMMUNITY