SARASOTA/BRADENTON, FL – Goodwill Manasota recently received a grant of $85,920 from the Ralph S. French Charitable Foundation in support of Goodwill’s award-winning GoodPartner Coach program. This is the eleventh year that Goodwill has received funding from the French Foundation for this purpose; this year’s award is the largest ever from the French Foundation to Goodwill. The funds were requested so that Goodwill could hire additional GoodPartner Coaches.
The GoodPartner Coach program offers individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment – of Goodwill’s 700 employees, 65% have a self-identified disability or disadvantage – with employability skills 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.
Every Goodwill Manasota employee is assigned a GoodPartner Coach. These coaches work with team members to do needs assessments to determine barriers to self-sufficiency and identify areas that could be strengthened through training as well as determine access to basic needs such as housing, food and healthcare. Other program elements include financial literacy education, the writing of an individualized development plan, and offering case management services to address any issues that might be an impediment to success.
“The GoodPartner Coach Program has been essential in providing team members with a plethora of resources as well as soft skills and financial literacy training,” said Margie Genter, vice president of mission services for Goodwill Manasota. “Thanks to this largest-ever grant from our friends at the Ralph S. French Charitable Foundation, our GoodPartner Coach program can continue to work with Goodwill team members so that they can succeed on the job and their families can be strengthened.”
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 experiencegoodwill.org or call 941-355-2721.