Goodwill is opening a retail store in Cornelia but it will offer a whole lot more than discounted donated merchandise. The old Walmart on Hwy. 441 is currently under renovation and will house both a Goodwill store and a career center. “Our mission statement is to put people to work,” explains Senior Director of Retail Development for Goodwill of North Georgia, George Staska. “We do the retail stores to fund the programs to help people find jobs, place people in jobs and help them maintain those jobs.”
Goodwill will occupy 64,000 square feet of space left vacant when Walmart built a superstore and moved across the highway four years ago. (The rest of the old Walmart is taken up by a Tractor Supply store that opened in 2013). Goodwill is leasing the property but Staska says it’s a long term lease and, “We’re here to stay.”
The Goodwill store and career center are scheduled to open in Cornelia on September 24, 2015.
“We’ve been looking for a way to grow into that area as far as our retail store,” explains Goodwill of North Georgia Public Relations Director, Elaine Armstrong. The closest Goodwill store to Habersham right now is in Oakwood. Toccoa has a career center but, Armstrong says, that will close once the new center opens in Cornelia. In addition, Goodwill is opening a donation site in downtown Clarkesville. It will be located in the old pawn shop at 1500 Washington Street across the street from the old courthouse. Goodwill is also looking to open donation centers in Clayton and Toccoa. “We’re excited about expanding our footprint in Habersham County,” Armstrong says, “and looking forward to serving even more people.”
Career center
Armstrong says the Cornelia career center will offer a variety of resources for job hunters and business owners. There will be computers, phones, copiers and fax machines people may use, free of charge, to help with their job search. Classes will be offered covering a wide range of topics including resume writing, computer skills – even forklift training where, Armstrong says, people can “come get forklift certified.” She says there will be a workforce development program to help people with disabilities find jobs and classes for business owners to “teach them how to write business plans and how to attain financing.” The Goodwill career center will also have conference rooms where employers can conduct interviews.
Many of the services are similar to those already offered by the Georgia Department of Labor but Armstrong says there’s no competition between the two agencies. “We have a great relationship with the DOL across our territory. We expect that relationship will continue when we open in Habersham County.”
Creating and filling jobs
Goodwill of North Georgia currently operates 53 stores and 10 career centers in 45 counties (stretching from Griffin, GA to the Tennessee border). Staska says the stores generate upwards of $100 million per year. The Cornelia location is expected to add to that bottom line and create forty new full-time jobs in Habersham County. “Inside the store we’ll be looking for sales and production associates,” says Armstrong. She explains cashiers are needed along with workers to accept donations, sort and display merchandise and help customers on the sales floor.
A hiring event will be scheduled at the store closer to its opening but Armstrong says anyone wanting to apply may go online now and fill out their personal profile at www.goodwillng.org. You must be at least 18 years old to apply.
Beyond internal hiring, Goodwill of North Georgia has a lofty job placement goal for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1. This year the non-profit seeks to place 20,000 workers in jobs throughout its territory. Armstrong says they placed 14,000 people in jobs last year. She says all of the jobs pay at least minimum wage.
90 years of tradition
From lofty goals to new beginnings, Goodwill of North Georgia has a lot to celebrate. This year marks the non-profit’s 90th year in operation. It started in 1925, twenty-three years after Methodist minister Rev. Edgar J. Helms established the first Goodwill in Boston in 1902.
According to Goodwill’s website:
“Helms collected used household goods and clothing in wealthier areas of the city, then trained and hired those who were poor to mend and repair the used goods. The goods were then resold or were given to the people who repaired them. The system worked, and the Goodwill philosophy of ‘a hand up, not a hand out’ was born.”
Today there are 165 Goodwills operating across the US boasting annual sales of $4 billion. Armstrong says Goodwill of North Georgia ranks third among them in terms of annual revenue. She says the move into Habersham is a good opportunity for the organization and for the people it serves.
“We know there is always going to be an unlimited need for our services. There are always going to be folks who need jobs or have a disability and have always been told ‘no’ and not had a chance to work. There will always be veterans who are out of work and, with so many of them returning home, we want to make sure we can support them. There will always be youth who need jobs.” Armstrong concludes, “We know there will always be a need for people to find work. Anytime we can meet a good buisness opportunity with our mission we’ll seize it.”
