Partnering with the Community

​Social distancing doesn’t have to keep us from coming together to give hope and bring comfort to our friends and neighbors.  At 11 a.m. Monday, March 30, a Goodwill Industries of Northwest Texas (GINWT) truck pulled into a Lubbock Independent School District warehouse parking lot to deliver 30,000 large, brown paper bags...click here for more.

Barbara Casteel: More Than a Donation
Barbara is one of the many individuals impacted every day by the generous donations from the communities Goodwill serves. These donations create jobs and provide job training, which in turn, change lives.  FIND OUT MORE

Janice Barnes: Breaking Barriers

​After working many years as a math teacher at Harmony Science Academy in Lubbock, Texas, Janice Barnes was faced with a road block. She was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. FIND OUT MORE

Joe Robledo: Overcoming Obstacles
The barriers continued to pile up, and I found myself jobless, not eligible for disability income, and without health insurance while dealing with medical issues. FIND OUT MORE

Clyde: Pushing Forward
I retired from the machine shops and metal working industries in 2006 at 72 years of age due to an on the job injury that left me with less than 20 percent vision in my left eye. ​FIND OUT MORE

Lynette: Becoming New
I am pleased to share a little bit of my experience while attending some classes at Goodwill Industries of Northwest Texas. FIND OUT MORE

Zeinab Ali: Bridging Gaps
 I attended the class, and I knew those ladies were serious, so I became serious about the class too. FIND OUT MORE

 

Success Stories & Good News 

Featured Success Story: 
Goodwill T-PALS Participant, Mr. Scotty Scott:
Success through the "Power of Work" 

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ABOVE: Scotty Scott changed his life through the “Power of Work” after enrolling in Goodwill’s T-PALS Program. He is pictured above as a guest attending a 100 Black Men of West Texas event.

​Scotty Scott came to Goodwill and shared his story of obtaining his first job at the age of 41, after a history of working the streets to “make fast money.” After being released from prison for the second time, he said he was absolutely determined to make a better life for himself and make his family proud.

He connected with Reggie Dial, Executive Director at East Lubbock Resident Owned Business Initiative, who began mentoring him on improving his life.  Scotty was hungry for guidance in order to change.  He landed a job driving for Citibus and was working overtime and picked up shifts but was interested in making higher wages.  When he approached his employer about advancement opportunities, they referred him to Goodwill’s Training, Placement and Life Skills program (T-PALS). The program provides Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced computer classes and other employment development training classes that gave Scotty the tools to pursue a promotion.

Scotty began the T-PALS program by attending the walk-in computer skills training center and phone bank in his time off from work.  He learned to type and increase his familiarity with digital skills until he could enroll in one of the evening computer skills courses to work around his current employment hours. While taking computer skills class, he worked closely with a T-PALS employment specialist to self-identify his unique barriers to employment in order to find solutions to overcome them and to set employment goals. He also practiced interview skills, talking without using street slang and creating a resume. Upon computer class completion, T-PALS staff presented Scotty with a certificate of continuing education credits from Goodwill’s partner, South Plains College.

When an opportunity arose within Citibus for a promotion to the dispatcher position Scotty desired, he worked with T-PALS staff to fill out an application and after turning it in, received an interview request. Scotty’s hard work and dedication paid off and he earned the promotion. Since that time, Scotty has continued building his self-confidence and completed the goals he sets. He says he does not regret going the extra mile needed to fulfill his dreams.  

Earlier this year, Scotty’s hours were cut due to issues arising from the economic impact of COVID-19 on the company he worked for. Scotty kept his job, but also secured two part-time positions with other companies – one was with the U.S. Postal Service. Impressed with his work ethic, the Postal Service offered him a full-time position with a hefty raise and benefits and that is where Scotty is currently employed.

Goodwill is extremely proud of Scotty’s success and invited him to be a guest speaker for the T-PALS Career Exploration and Work Ethics specialty class. Attendees comment on how they are motivated by hearing Scotty’s story of overcoming his barriers to employment through his determination to change his life through the T-PALS program and reaching employment goals.

Scotty says he is doing additional outreach in the community to motivate others to change their lives through the power of work. His mentor, Dial, invited him as a guest to 100 Black Men of West Texas event and now Scotty says he attends their annual event to contribute in any way he can. He says feedback continues to inspire him to speak to others in the hopes he can help them break away from life on the streets and reach for a better life. He said he was recently told, “Now Scotty, you can come out from stooping in the dark, to standing tall in the light.”

Congratulations and well done, Scotty Scott. You are a success. You did it! .

To view a video of Mr. Scott speaking before a Goodwill T-PALS class, go to: 
https://www.facebook.com/1534640909/videos/10215933231433708/.