Recent Posts
Kent Kramer, President and CEO of Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana, recently joined Candy Barksdale, retired CEO of the former Goodwill of Southern Indiana, to discuss the merger of their organizations.
Born and raised in Brazil, Guilherme “William” Sprowl and his family moved to Indianapolis when he was 17. He admits, he’s always been interested in math and science, which is what brought him to Indianapolis Met. “My parents wanted me at a school that would really challenge me,” said William.
Olivia Bell wasn’t sure what being a young, single mother meant for her future, but it turned out to be the most meaningful experience of her life.
Dawn Baxter was a wonderful person to work with. She was one of the first graduates of our janitorial training program and had been a long-time employee in our Commercial Services area. Dawn passed away this last weekend. Our deepest sympathies to her family and friends. We will miss her very much.
“Melissa’s strength, integrity, academic achievements and passion for service are highly motivating to me as a teacher and a person. She’s going to leave her mark on the world when she leaves the Met.”
– Jessica Ungerecht, Instructor, Indianapolis Metropolitan High School
As Kristal Lebron prepared to begin her senior year of high school, she found out she was pregnant. Kristal immediately enrolled in Goodwill’s Nurse-Family Partnership program.
“I would recommend Nurse-Family Partnership,” Kristal said. “It teaches new moms everything they need to know about being pregnant and having a baby. I don’t know what I would do without Kasey, my nurse.”
Kristal wanted to graduate high school before her baby was born, so Kasey helped her enroll at The Excel Center, Goodwill’s school for adult learners. A dedicated and determined student, Kristal graduated with her diploma and received her pharmacy tech certification within three months. During that time, Kristal also met regularly with Kasey to learn about prenatal health and how to prepare for a new baby. Kristal learned about taking care of herself, all while working on college courses and receiving top grades.
“Kasey taught me a lot about my daughter,” Kristal said. “I know the importance of breastfeeding, safe sleep, home safety and using a car seat correctly.”
Kristal gave birth to a healthy baby and accepted her first job at a pharmacy warehouse. She continues to meet with her nurse to learn how to foster her daughter’s development and is enrolled in classes at Ivy Tech studying criminal justice. She wants to become either a police officer or a probation officer after she finishes her associate’s degree.
Derrick Powe has been a valued Goodwill employee for more than six years, beginning as a groundskeeper and now working as a janitor for Goodwill Commercial Services.
Derrick displays an amazingly bright smile that illuminates any room he enters. He is a role model in the workplace. His coworkers and supervisors at the Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center [referred to as Building One] have nothing but great things to say about him. The quality inspector at Building One stated, simply, “I am a Derrick fan.”