With roots stretching back some 130 years, Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries has a long history of serving some of the most vulnerable people and getting them connected to the services they need to thrive.
Beyond the retail stores – now numbering 10 across Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana Counties, as well as in Mercer and Lawrence Counties in Pennsylvania – that it’s probably best known for, the nonprofit offers vision services including children’s screenings and support groups; the Radio Reading Service where volunteers read newspapers, magazines and books for broadcast at WYSU; business services including laundry, lawn care and janitorial staff; and the Mission Services branch, which helps clients with workforce development services.
“We’re really fortunate that while we are a nonprofit, we can operate as a social enterprise. We’re able to run our stores to fund our programs and offer employment in the community,” says Annie Phillips, CEO of the local Goodwill.
When the coronavirus pandemic first hit the Mahoning and Shenango Valleys, there was uncertainty about how the agency, which relies heavily on delivering its services in person, would carry on. In an uncertain time, Phillips says, having an Agency Fund with the Community Foundation provided a sense of stability.
“Knowing that there are things like our agency fund that are there in times of need, it keeps us steady” she says. “When COVID hit, we had to have discussions and knowing that the agency fund was there if we needed to cover payroll was a big relief. It gives us security.”
And as a nonprofit that provides employment opportunities to some 311 employees, ensuring that those people who have recently found some stability in their life or in that process aren’t thrown into further turmoil was vital. While Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries didn’t tap into its Agency Fund, knowing that it was available gave leadership a wide range of options when having discussions.
Considerations like that flow throughout everything Goodwill does, says Joe Paloski, the Vice President of Mission Services, from staff greeting clients in the hallway to bigger conversations about where to add new stores or what new services to add.
“We’ve been in this community since 1893 and know what we can do. So now we’re trying to address those gaps in services,” he says. “Every Goodwill does something a little different, so the sky really is the limit as we consider what we offer.”
While the suite of services isn’t being changed or expanded immediately, Phillips and Paloski say that Goodwill’s focus is on reducing barriers to service. At its headquarters along Belmont Avenue in Liberty, buses and Dial-A-Ride vans from WRTA are a common sight as employees and clients make their way in and out. Storefronts serve as an entry point in getting people in the community connected to services, eliminating the need to get to the headquarters. And some services, such as the children’s vision programs, involve travel to community sites.
“When it comes to services, we’ve found that we’re able to have a clear impact when we work hard to mitigate barriers, normally to employment but also barriers that impact quality of life. We’ve found that transportation is a huge one, so we’ve worked to meet people where they’re at” Phillips says. “They can get just about everything we offer right in their own community.”
Eliminating those barriers also means getting clients connected to services, even if that means sending them to other nonprofits and service providers.
“It takes a lot for a person to reach out and ask for help. It takes being vulnerable. If someone says “No” or that they can’t help, it can make you feel worse,” Paloski says. “Even when we’re not the ones that are able to help, we have enough connections to be able to make those introductions.”
Adds Phillips – “We know that workforce services are just one part of a healthy community. If someone’s struggling with one thing, we have to know how to help and where to point them so that it doesn’t limit their success. If we can make someone’s life better by making a referral, why wouldn’t we do it?”