In 2011, Tulay Ergin moved from Turkey to the United States to support her husband’s pursuit of a Ph.D. After a 10-year break from her own career in surgical nursing, she wanted to rejoin the workforce.

In 2015, Amber Burleson, PMHNP-BC and her husband moved from Tennessee to Indianapolis where Amber began working as a bilingual NFP Nurse with Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana’s Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP) serving mothers whose first language is Spanish.  Amber enjoyed her work as a bilingual nurse home visitor and quickly realized at the base of everything were mental health needs.  

When Vicki Parks of Richmond, Indiana first enrolled into Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana’s Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) she was very hesitant about starting over due to her age. However, once Vicki gave the program a chance and began to understand the support that she would receive while enrolled, she realized that it was a perfect fit for her. 

Gloria Combs has shown amazing drive and passion for education, always pushing limits to prove her capabilities. After graduating from The Excel Center® in 2013 and finishing her high school diploma, Gloria went on to pursue a career as a life coach to inspire others just as she was inspired by her own life coach. She has been a major advocate for education ever since. 

Did you know that Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana’s Commercial Services division holds a partnership with AbilityOne, a federal program that is one of the largest sources for employment for people who are blind or have significant disabilities? Goodwill Commercial Services is one of the approximately 500 nonprofit organizations that employ individuals with barriers to employment, such as disabilities, and provides quality services to the Federal Government at a fair market price. 

The Excel Center®, Goodwill’s high school for adults, will celebrate its newest graduating class this December at various locations across central and southern Indiana.

Anyone who has spent time at The Excel Center® in Clarksville during the last three years knows Ana Gonzalez, but not many know the full story behind her path to Goodwill. Ana is the director of the Young Learner’s Child Care (YLCC) in Clarksville, where her time is split between planning each day’s activities and putting those plans into action. Years before her time at Goodwill, Ana’s journey began in her small hometown in Mexico. She enjoyed her childhood, but as the region grew more complicated with heavy cartel presence, her family decided to move to the United States.

The benefits of walking during pregnancy are unending. Access to an outdoor space and fresh air provides a great low impact cardio opportunity that can contribute to better sleep, relief from stress and physical discomfort while delivering an energy boost for expecting parents. For the majority of Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana’s Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) clients, however, walking outdoors in their own neighborhoods is not an option. The reasons for this are directly related to various neighborhood factors, including railroads, poorly draining areas, industry, close proximity to interstate highways and freeways and more. 

Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana and Mount Paran Church partnered to host a drive-thru turkey giveaway event for Indianapolis’s far eastside on November 22 from 12 - 3 p.m. Over 350 turkeys were distributed to community members in the Circle City Prep parking lot located at 4002 N. Franklin Road. 

Faith Hicks is a junior at Indianapolis Metropolitan High School who initially enrolled as a freshman a few years ago. Perhaps it’s her tenure at the school that gives her an air of confidence as she walks with her peers through the Indy Met hallways, but right away, it’s easy to see that Faith is one-of-a-kind.