[ business ]
SAMANTHA CART REBECCA BERGER
All for Good
Prosperity Center Offers Hope to Its Community
Founded in the early 1900s, Goodwill Industries has been working toward its mission of helping people with disabilities or vocational disadvantages achieve full participation and integration into the community and the workforce for more than 100 years.
Goodwill Industries of Kanawha Valley, Inc.( GIKV), headquartered in Charleston, WV, is making strides toward that goal with its Prosperity Center— a centralized location for West Virginians to build entry-level employment skills. Opened in 2015, the center offers vocational and community-based work assessments, interest inventories, work skills assessments, soft skills development, practical work experience, experiential learning, educational coursework and opportunities to earn certifications, learn technical skills and matriculate into formal degree programs and employment.
The development of the Prosperity Center was laid out in two phases. Phase I included the reconfiguration of the facility space to provide a career center, huddle rooms, an assessment room, a career closet and classroom, technology, meeting and office space. One of the most important aspects of the project was to remain true to Goodwill’ s mission by using local businesses for every facet of construction and design.
ZMM Architects & Engineers, a company with a long-standing relationship with GIKV, designed its current Charleston retail store and donation and production facility and provided work for both phases of the Prosperity Center. In addition, GIKV worked closely with Oval Construction Management, Pray Construction, Agsten Construction Company, Harris Brothers Roofing & Mechanical Contractors, Nitro Acoustics, Kanawha Valley Construction & Erection, Charleston Steel, Brewer & Company of West Virginia, West Virginia Heating & Plumbing Company, Cornerstone Electric, Prism Painting, Capitol Business Interiors, Alpha Technologies and Camel Technologies to complete the project.
“ Goodwill is about helping people become employable and gain and retain jobs,” says Kathy McKinley, director of community relations for GIKV.“ When we approached expanding our facilities to accommodate more programs and serve more people who want to work, it was a priority to support local companies in our communities that are already empowering West Virginians through work.”
Since 2015, the Prosperity Center, which has provided jobs and opportunities for nearly 7,000 West Virginians, is regularly utilized as a community meeting place and venue for hiring events. The center hosts Meet the Artist, a monthly event that highlights an artist with an employment barrier; GoodHOST, a hospitality program that began in 2018 to help provide basic instruction on West Virginia’ s growing hospitality industry; College Power Up, which introduces participants to the
Janaklal Patel meeting U. S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito during the Goodwill Google Digital Career Accelerator program tour.
fundamental skills needed to succeed in higher education; and digital skill and office skill accelerator courses.
Phase II of the Prosperity Center, which is currently underway, is focused on a technology overhaul of the facility, enabling distance learning opportunities, and includes updates to the conference center and the addition of a commercial kitchen. The new phase has inspired a variety of collaborations, including an office skills course offered in conjunction with BridgeValley Community and Technical College through which participants can earn up to five college credit hours, the GoodHOST program and a partnership with Good News Mountaineer Garage and Recovery Point.
Funded in part by a grant from the Kanawha Valley Coalition on Philanthropy to encourage positive growth on Charleston’ s West Side, Recovery Point participants who have achieved a specific stage in their path of sobriety and are compliant with all medical requirements will be able to participate in GIKV employment programs in order to build skills and develop a credible work history.
“ Once participants have completed the developed programming, they will work directly with staff to select work-appropriate clothing from the Suited for Success career closet and interview for employment,” says McKinley.“ Participants who complete Goodwill programming in good standing will be entered into a pool for the chance to win a vehicle from Good News Mountaineer Garage. All awarded vehicles come with all tax and title fees paid and a limited warranty.”
A vital piece of infrastructure for workforce development, the Prosperity Center’ s work is just getting started, and GIKV’ s leadership has big plans for its future.
“ When thinking about an organization that at first sight seems like a thrift store or a place to donate clothes, it is important to note that Goodwill’ s founder, Edgar Helms, had a socially innovative plan that has been working for 116 years by offering dignity in finding purpose in all people and things,” says McKinley.“ Our Goodwill is fortunate to be guided by an engaged board of directors and dedicated staff who work to encourage active mission integration and share the stories that frame successes one task, one job, one life, one family and one community at a time.” •
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE