At 17 years old, many teenagers are focused on things like prom and hanging out with friends. Sarah Siegel’s teenage years were spent a little differently, however, when she suddenly found herself living on her own during her sophomore year of high school.
Referred to Goodwill’s New Beginnings program by his parole officer in 2017, Christopher Holifield was determined to make a change, for himself as well as his children.
In 1929, Helen Krebs Barth boarded a trolley in New Albany, Indiana. She was headed to Louisville, Kentucky to see a speech by Rev. Edgar J. Helms, the Methodist minister who had founded Goodwill in Boston nearly 30 years earlier. Rev. Helms was spreading the message of Goodwill and encouraging people to develop operations in their own struggling communities.
The Excel Center®, a tuition-free high school that provides adults the opportunity to earn a Core 40 diploma, celebrated over 300 graduates at its winter graduation ceremonies on February 14 and 15. Since opening its first location in 2010, The Excel Center has seen consistent growth, including the expansion to 14 locations throughout central and southern Indiana.
DeShawn Minor reflects on his early youth as a difficult time. He didn’t fully understand how his actions impacted those around him, especially his mom and younger siblings. He describes how he had anger issues and “goofed off” a lot at school, resulting in several suspensions and finally, expulsion. He was placed into a group home as a teen and an alternative school in another city.
Ask any instructor or coach at The Excel Center® Shadeland about David Ramirez, and their face will quickly light up.
Correy Marshall met his wife, LaKeisha, after his grandmother stopped into the Goodwill retail store where she was working at the time.
“She approached me and said, ‘You look like you would be a good wife for my grandson,’” LaKeisha said.
Amber Copley is a proud high school graduate at the age of 23. She initially dropped out of school when she was a junior in high school, at the age of 16, due to emotional and financial difficulties.
Success stories at Goodwill are more than a stamp of “this story is done.” Instead, they acknowledge that the individual reached their goals, overcame their challenges and launched into their next chapter. Johnny Manson is just such a success story. He demonstrated tremendous growth in education, employment and financial goals.