“Things are so much brighter than I could have ever dreamed, and I just learned how capable I am even though I really believed and was told that I wasn’t. Goodwill showed me this whole different side of me.”

Rachelle arrived at Goodwill after leaving a horrendous situation. She grew up in a struggling family, dropped out of high school, and got involved in a relationship that led to Rachelle being a victim of human trafficking. Goodwill’s Job Training and Education (JTE) staff embraced Rachelle the moment she entered the center and provided the encouragement and support she needed to start believing in herself again.

“No matter what you go through in life, you have to believe in you and that you can make it,” Cheri said. “I had lost that. You get to a point where you are OK and then you lose everything, and it’s kind of like, ‘How did I get here?’ I was beating myself up mentally and stopped believing in Cheri. The people at Goodwill were so open and loving, and they believe in everybody that walked in that room regardless of what you were going through. Goodwill was a big help in my transformation. I give Goodwill all props. I really do.”

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.

“The youth look up to me. I’m young, but knowing they look up to me is kind of different, because at one point I was the person looking up to staff.” – Martrez, Seattle Goodwill Intern and Youth Program Participant 

Martrez graduated from Seattle’s Cleveland High School in 2019. Before he connected with Goodwill, Martrez compared himself to his peers who lacked interest in school and weren’t on the right track. After building relationships and receiving guidance from Goodwill’s Youth Year-Round Program Job Training & Education (JTE) staff, Martrez’s mindset shifted. 

“I believe this internship offers a lot of help for the lower-income students – not for the students who have the highest grades or have the most amount of money or already have a place in college,” Nika said. “Goodwill speaks for students who are struggling in an environment they don’t think they can get out of. It’s good to give an opportunity for others who need it, and Goodwill does that.” 

“The internship is a pretty good opportunity, especially if you are trying to see what work is like,” Rodney said. “You’re learning things, and you’ve got really supportive people there that want to help you grow and succeed in life.”

MaiQueen’s first summer with Seattle Goodwill has been an immersion in career exploration, professional development, community service, and so much more. A senior at Seattle’s Garfield High School, she stayed busy last summer developing job skills in Goodwill’s Youth Maritime Program.

"Because of this internship, I had a more productive summer. I turned it into a, ‘Let’s go to work and see what I can accomplish, regardless of the circumstances," Alieu says about his five-month work experience with Goodwill. 

At Seattle Goodwill, we served 6,684 students last year at our five Job Training and Education centers throughout the north Puget Sound. For us, supporting students is more than in-classroom instruction – it means offering the same type of care and compassion one would expect from a family member. Read more about how Seattle Goodwill innovated remote learning and continued supporting the community needs during the uncertainty of Covid-19.

For the last eight years, Pete’s work has helped Seattle Goodwill provide free job training, education programs and support services to community members in need. His work in E-Commerce allows Goodwill to continue its critical mission of helping others improve their lives and the lives of their families.

While Pete has learned the importance of Goodwill’s programs, he’s never needed to take advantage of them himself. That changed when Pete, like so many others, became unemployed due to business closure brought on by COVID-19.