SARASOTA/BRADENTON, FL – Goodwill Manasota recently received a grant of $60,000 from the Ralph S. French Charitable Foundation in support of the award-winning GoodPartner Coach program. This is the tenth year that Goodwill has received funding from the French Foundation for this purpose.
The GoodPartner Coach program offers individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment – 60% of Goodwill’s workforce has a self-identified disability or disadvantage – with job training and case management services. The goal of the program is to enable those who may have been overlooked elsewhere to gain positive personal and workplace behaviors and skills, feel the pride of earning a paycheck and move toward self-sufficiency, build a strong work history, and develop the experience and skills to position them for higher paying jobs outside of Goodwill.
Through Goodwill’s GoodPartner Coach Program, team members participate in a career needs assessment, the development of an individualized case management plan, and then go through training components to reach ultimate desired outcomes. Job performance and educational benchmarks are set, providing clear expectations for career advancement readiness. Ideally, individuals with disabilities or other barriers to self-sufficiency will establish a lifetime link with Goodwill, so that they may take advantage of ever-increasing services available throughout the community.
“Goodwill has been innovative in hiring people from the community who may have been overlooked elsewhere; the GoodPartner Coach Program has been essential in providing these people with the tools they need to succeed in finding and retaining employment,” said Bob Rosinsky, president and CEO of Goodwill Manasota. “Everyone deserves a chance to earn a paycheck and feel the dignity of work. We are grateful to the Ralph S. French Charitable Foundation for continuing to help us change lives in a very big way.”
For more information about the GoodPartner Coach program, call (941) 355-2721 or go to experiencegoodwill.org.
About Goodwill Manasota
Goodwill Manasota is an industry-leading 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that changes lives through the power of work. With philanthropic donations and revenue generated by the sales of donated goods, Goodwill is able to assist people with disabilities, veterans, seniors, and those with other barriers to employment by providing jobs, job skills training, and free career services. For more information or for a listing of locations, visit www.experiencegoodwill.org or call 941-355-2721.