Shallon Green

September 21, 2004

"People want to be successful in a job," Shallon Green told Putnam Rotarians today, "Goodwill Industries can help that happen." Goodwill of Kanawha Valley has several programs in place for assistance and continuing support for persons disabled or for whom circumstances make jobs hard to get and keep, said the Marshall graduate who serves as Director of Community Relations for Goodwill.

Ninety-eight percent of those with banking training through Goodwill programs have successful placement said Green. The year-round eight-week classes are supported by the regional Workforce Investment Board. Students are also placed through the West Virginia Department of Rehabilitation Services.

Retail sales skills are taught in a comprehensive ten-week class which combines classroom instruction with hands-on training. Students learn merchandising, math skills, customer relations, quality control and technical support.

Dr. Edgar Helms, a Methodist minister, collected unwanted household goods and clothing. Persons needing work, usually immigrants with limited language skills, mended the clothing or repaired the furniture.

The proceeds from, sales were used to pay Helms' workers and to provide job training programs.

From this mission grew Goodwill Industries, a $1.7 million nonprofit organization now the largest private employer in the world for persons with disabilities.

Goodwill now administers 172 training centers in the United States. An additional 22 training sites operate in other countries.

Goodwill of Kanawha Valley, dating from 1951, now manages retail stores in seven locations.

Donations are sorted and checked for quality. When items fail to make the grade, they go into a recycling program. Nothing is wasted she said.

Money from sales, 90 cents out of every dollar, is used for job training. The Charleston Store at 209 Virginia Street, West, sells 500 to 700 items every day.

Goodwill of Kanawha Valley, Green told Putnam Rotarians, also has over seventy contracts for janitorial services. Some 200 persons are employed through this program.

Those who are eligible are supported on the job by up to 180 hours of counseling and site training by a "job coach."

"Sheltered employment" may be extended to clients for whom competitive service is not feasible. Such persons may be limited by age, severity of disability or lack of experience.

"All ages and disabilities are assisted by Goodwill," said Green. "About 75 percent of the 315 to 330 employees of Goodwill have a disability."