You love your stuff … Does it love you back?

By Lorie Marrero, author of The Clutter Diet

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ebruary is a time for focusing on LOVE! Beyond whom you love, let’s talk for a moment about WHAT you love.

When I work with clients, so often we are going through items and they happily exclaim, “Oh, I LOVE this!” They get to say this a few times (and I do say this myself), but if I hear this sentence used too much as a rationalization for keeping things that are not needed, we have to discuss that. The stuff does not love you back! What is at the root of this love for inanimate objects?

Loved items from the PAST
We form attachments to objects because we love the memories that those objects represent. A model car might represent that car you drove in high school, with the attached memories of the fun you had with your friends driving around. Baby clothes represent the sweet memories of your children’s cuteness (before they became teenagers). It’s great to keep some mementos, but only if they are not overpowering your ability to function in your current time and space and blocking what you can do in the present and future.

Loved items for the FUTURE
We also might love objects because of what we hope they represent for ourselves later. You may prize an exquisite tablecloth you never use, because you envision using it at a fancy dinner party for your friends in the future. You may hold on to an antique easel because someday you envision yourself taking up painting. Keeping a few items like these is a great idea for reminding you of your goals. But if those goals have become unrealistic and are now just nagging you and reminding you about stale aspirations, they need to go and make room for other more relevant items.

Loved items that are BEAUTIFUL
We may love objects because they bring beauty and enjoyment into our lives. Art and other creative items like books are very important to inspire us and make us feel good in our spaces. The famous quote by William Morris says, “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” So, if it’s beautiful to you, are you displaying it? If not, why? Again, if you have so much that it’s affecting your ability to function, you need to pare it down. Remember, form follows function!

What objects do you love? Are they getting in your way? If you’ve been inspired to pare it down, remember that donating to Goodwill® is the best way to provide a good home to your loved items while helping others in your own community to find a good job.

How to be more confident in job interviews

By guest blogger Ginny Neumer of Goodwill Keystone Area

“I’m so nervous when I go on interviews. I never know what questions they’ll ask.”

“I hate going on interviews.”

“I know what I want to say during an interview but what comes out is mush.”

Do any of these statements sound familiar?  No matter what your age, you can be confident in interviews by following three easy steps.

Prepare. Before the interview, get to know the company—what it does, who it serves, its competitors, its suppliers, its senior officers, and the reasons you should be the one they hire. The company’s website will have answers to these items. Know your résumé and have a story to tell about every bullet point on it—interviewers remember people who can talk about their strengths and how they relate to the job. It also helps to know how to answer common interview questions.

Practice. Practice interviewing in support groups, job clubs, workshops, or with a friend. You will only get better, and you’ll be able to eliminate mistakes. Proper attire depends on the job, so  make sure several interview outfits are ready to go at a moment’s notice. Learn more about proper attire here. Don’t overlook personal hygiene—hair, teeth, hands/nails.

Execute. When you know the name of the interviewer, research him or her on the Internet to see if you have anything in common to talk about. Take at least five copies of your résumé with you, and arrive 10-15 minutes before your appointment. Turn off all electronic devices and do not check your phone for messages or e-mails. Stand and wait to be escorted into the interviewer’s office; once inside, wait to be seated until the interviewer directs you where to sit. When it’s your turn, ask relevant job-related questions of the interviewer. At the end of the interview, get the interviewer’s business card and promptly send them a thank-you message, making sure to spell their and the company’s name correctly.

Every interview is an opportunity to improve. After each, ask yourself, ‘What can I do better? What did I do well? What should I stop doing?’ By combining those learning experiences with these best practices, you’ll find that you can master interviews. Learn more about interviewing and get more career advice on Goodwill’s GoodProspects site.

Ginny Neumer works for Goodwill Keystone Area’s Community Service Employment Program, and uses her experience as a former human resource generalist to teach people job-search skills for today’s job market.

You are the company you keep

By Richard Carlson, President and CEO

Going back to my childhood, I recall my parents reading from an Aesop’s Fable that carried the moral: “you are known by the company you keep.” Many of you will remember that quote from your own formative years and of learning the importance of surrounding ourselves with persons of integrity.

In like manner, companies of all types also need to surround themselves with good company. Together we learn, support best practices and build sustainable communities. We recently learned that for the third year in a row, Goodwill Industries has again been named to Forbes “America’s 20 Most Inspiring Companies” list. On top of that, we have moved from 23^rd (formerly a top 25 list) in 2012, to 19^th in 2013, and are listed 11^th in 2014. We are very proud that we have been recognized as one of our nation’s most inspiring organizations, and that once again we are the only not-for-profit charitable company that made the list.

As in the past, the list was based on survey results from Performance Inspired, Inc. The company collected 3,300 online questionnaires from respondents who were asked to imagine a fictitious inspirational company, write about its values, behaviors and attitudes, including how it would treat customers and the community. Then they had to name an inspirational real life company and describe how it measured up to the fictional company. Finally, survey-takers ranked how inspirational they thought the company was on a scale of one to 10.

To be listed again as one of America’s most inspiring companies is both humbling and gratifying. Most importantly, I believe that thanks to the amazing network of employees in Goodwill agencies across the U.S., Canada and around the world, consumers everywhere have come to understand that by donating and shopping at your local Goodwill store, you are investing in job opportunities and skills development training in our local communities.

This honor reaffirms our belief that people understand that by supporting their local Goodwill, the revenues we earn are invested locally and make a tremendous difference in the lives of people we serve; not charity, but a chance. Goodwill is able to fulfill our mission only because of you … the good company we keep.

Changes in Goodwill’s electronic recycling program

By Stan Brown, Industrial Services Manager 

A few months ago I blogged about recycling electronics and my great experience touring the facility of our recycling partner, Valley City Electronic Recycling in Grand Rapids.

Everything we do at Goodwill is driven by our mission of providing work opportunities, skill development, and family strengthening resources throughout the West Michigan communities we serve. We recycle electronics primarily because it generates jobs. The process involved in sorting, packing, and palletizing donated electronics provides valuable paid work experience and job skills training for people enrolled in Goodwill transitional employment programming. In addition, a lot of hazardous material is diverted from the waste stream.

For many years now, Goodwill has been committed to, and proud of, providing convenient television donation and recycling as a free service to the community. In the past, the manufacturers of TVs paid a subsidy to the recycling industry to make the process financially sustainable for all parties. That subsidy has declined to the point that it is no longer viable for Valley City and other recyclers to process the older-style cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions and CRT computer monitors without applying a surcharge to those who collect the TVs. So instead of the recycler paying Goodwill for those items, Goodwill will be required to pay the recycler to process these select items we collect. Unfortunately, that is not a viable option for Goodwill and is not compatible with our mission. As a result, we are no longer accepting donations of the old-style CRT TVs and CRT monitors. For the same reason, we are also no longer able to accept donations of the large projection-style TVs.

It is important to note that Goodwill continues to accept recycle a wide range of flat-screen televisions, computers, and many other electronic devices … in any condition. Those donations do indeed support our mission and help create jobs, so please keep them coming! We sincerely thank you!

To view a list of all the items we DO continue to accept, view here.

Expect. Employ. Empower.

By Jennifer Tucker, Mission Services Director

For nearly 70 years, a broad coalition of businesses, organizations and government agencies have stood together to support an important mission: to employ Americans with disabilities. With the unemployment rate for those with disabilities still nearly double that of people without disabilities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this mission is now more important than ever. As I have witnessed many times, work has the power to give people a sense of purpose and self-esteem they may not have been able to receive elsewhere. Try to remember the first paycheck you earned and how proud you were to have the money in your pocket that was put there by your hard work. Whether you saved your money to spend it on a movie you were dying to see, clothes your parents wouldn’t let you wear, or to put shoes on your child’s feet, this is a memory that I hope all people will have the opportunity to recall.

Throughout the month of October, Goodwill Industries of West Michigan is proud to work with the U.S. Department of Labor to support National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). This national campaign, which has roots tracing back to 1945, raises awareness about the contributions people with disabilities make in America’s workforce, and it encourages companies and organizations to build business cultures that value diversity, respect and employment opportunities for all.

This year’s NDEAM theme is “Expect. Employ. Empower.” Millions of Americans with disabilities make important contributions to our workplaces every day, and during October we encourage local employers to take a look at their hiring practices and ensure they are doing everything possible to recruit and meet the potential needs of such employees. Making a commitment to employ people with disabilities not only empowers this often overlooked population— but as many employers I have worked with will gladly tell you, the commitment will help companies build diversity and find dedicated, passionate and impactful employees. I am looking forward to hearing the stories of first paychecks and of the excitement that comes with that first day of work.

Breaking down the numbers

By Drew Robinson, Resource Development Coordinator

How do you measure unemployment?

If you are like most people, the first measurement tool that probably comes to mind is the “unemployment rate” – a percentage – that is often cited in the news. For instance, unemployment in the Muskegon/Norton Shores area was 8.2% in July 2014.

If you dig a little further though, you will find that this 8.2% is a somewhat abstract calculation. It can go up or down depending on what you include; for instance, this 8.2% doesn’t include anticipated seasonal workers who have been laid off, or people who aren’t working but aren’t actively looking either. Even when this information is all sorted out, the best information we can gather from this tool is that 8.2% of the workforce in the Muskegon/Norton Shores area is not currently employed.

But how many is that? Is that good or bad? What does this really mean?

It turns out such answers aren’t easy to find. After downloading a few data tables from the U.S. Bureau for Labor Statistics, you would find that in July of this year, the number of people in the Muskegon/Norton Shores workforce who were unemployed increased from 6,300 to 7,100.

If we break these numbers down just a bit further, though, the real story shines through: every day in July, over 25 workers lost their jobs. These workers aren’t just numbers. They are real people: our friends, relatives, and neighbors.

So the obvious question is, what can we do about it?

Every day, Goodwill works hard to close this gap. Last year, we helped 1,380 people secure competitive employment in our community – that’s an average of 115 a month, or almost four workers a day.

It takes a great deal of effort and resources to continue to make an impact like this every day, and we can’t do it without the help of people in our community like you. We sincerely appreciate your support of our retail stores, as well as your generous goods and clothing donations. But as you can see from the numbers, every day a few more people in our community are in need of “a hand up, not a hand out.”

By making a monthly financial gift to Goodwill online, you can make a real difference in the life of someone looking for a job in our community. By combining your gift with others, we can help jobseekers connect with the help and supports they need to succeed, regardless of their abilities. Simply go to www.goodwillwm.org, click “donate online” at the top of the page, and set up a monthly giving plan that is right for you.

Every gift counts – no matter what size. By skipping a $5 latte every month (136 calories with whole milk … I’m just sayin’), you can provide six hours of job readiness programming to someone who doesn’t know where to start. And by giving a preset amount every month, you also help reduce Goodwill’s fundraising expenses – meaning even more of your gift goes direct to the people who need it most.

And in the end, we all benefit, don’t we? More workers means a stronger economy, and that means a brighter future for everyone.

Thank you for your support!

Goodwill Honors America’s Workers on Labor Day

By Richard Carlson, President and CEO

As a means of honoring the economic and social contributions of U.S. workers, Labor Day first became a federal holiday 120 years ago, in 1894. Just eight years later, the Rev. Edgar J. Helms founded Goodwill Industries. Then, as today, Goodwill has been providing the programs and supports that workers often need to achieve their full potential, throughout North America and here in the West Michigan area.

We are reminded on Labor Day of the power of work to transform lives. Good-paying jobs allow people from all backgrounds to support themselves and their families, and contribute to the country’s economic vitality. And those who are unemployed or underemployed invariably struggle to make ends meet.

Recent statistics show that the number of unemployed Americans has hovered right around the 10 million mark this year, showing a slight improvement from 2013 figures. While people are finding jobs and the number of long-term unemployed persons is dropping slowly, approximately 2 million people are described as being marginally attached to the labor market. That means they wanted to and were available for work, but hadn’t looked for a job in the previous month. Among those, approximately 700,000 Americans are considered discouraged workers, meaning they’ve stopped looking for work because they believe no jobs exist for them. Together, we still have much work to do in growing our economic health and helping our neighbors prepare for, find and keep good jobs.

Goodwill works hard to meet the needs of all job seekers, including those here in West Michigan. In the past year, Goodwill agencies helped more than 9.8 million people train for careers and helped more than 261,000 people earn jobs. In West Michigan we placed 1,380 people in new employment. Goodwill also provided the supporting services workers need to be successful, such as work readiness and job retention training, Beyond Jobs services for women, financial wellness coaching and supports as well as career planning and development.

Everyone can take part. By donating to Goodwill of Industries of West Michigan donors help create opportunities for those looking for work. That’s because the items sold in Goodwill stores go to fund Goodwill’s skills training and job placement services for people throughout the region.