Gala For Good To Highlight Goodwill’s Service To State

Pictured above: Jamie Gregrich (left) poses with Tina Cumbie, who completed Goodwill’s reentry program. (Photos provided)

The inaugural Gala for Good takes place this year as the signature event for Goodwill Industries of Arkansas. While most folks might think of Goodwill as a low-priced thrift store or the final stop after a decluttering spree, the organization is much more than a donation-based retail chain.

“Everything that we do serves the state of Arkansas. Any money that we bring in, we put it back into the state of Arkansas,” said Shannon Boshears, senior vice president of development. “Everybody knows Goodwill as a retail store where people take their goods and they’re sold at an inexpensive price back to the public, but all those donations that we get, the money that comes off that goes to support these mission services that we offer.”

Shannon Boshears

Goodwill of Arkansas started in 1927, she said. At that time, the organization provided education and training to individuals with developmental disabilities. Since then, Goodwill has expanded its services while maintaining its focus on education, employment and training.

“If you can empower somebody with education and training in order to learn how to make a living, take care of themselves, take care of their families, it directly impacts the community, as well, and makes our state even stronger,” Boshears said. “Education really addresses the root of poverty.”

To help educate the community, Goodwill has a GTEC campus in Little Rock, and it opened a GTEC campus in Springdale in July. Both include the Excel Center and the Academy at Goodwill.

Chandler Dickson trains in computer hardware at the Academy at Goodwill.

The Excel Center is the only high school in Arkansas that allows adults 19 and older to earn a high school diploma, Boshears added. The center is free to attend, and Boshears said there are about 180 students enrolled in Excel at the two campuses.

“We have people up in their 70s who are attending that never received their diploma that just want to come back to school and accomplish that,” she added. “We kind of meet people where they’re at. Some people, they’ve attended a couple years worth of high school. They don’t need to attend that long, so they might get out in a few weeks. Some people, it might take them a couple of years to get all the education they need in order to get the diploma.”

Providing that education can inspire generations to pursue schooling, she added.

“Educational becomes generational,” she said. “The kids of these parents that might be in this school, they get to see their parent going and getting a high school diploma. It makes them want to succeed and learn in education.”

For children of students, the center provides a free drop-in center that uses iPads and other tools to teach children while their parents earn their diplomas, she added.

“When that parent graduates, that child graduates with them and walks across the stage in their own cap and gown and gets their own little diploma,” she said.

Priscilla Luke completes a welding course at the Academy at Goodwill.

The Academy at Goodwill provides certifications and job training, including Google certifications and training in plumbing, construction, welding and electrical work.

“We kind of run the gamut,” Boshears said. “If people need to get certified or skilled in a trade to get into the workforce, we can offer that, so we’re naturally a great pipeline for people entering the workforce. To me, we’re kind of a hidden gem right now because a lot of people don’t know what Goodwill does.”

In addition, Goodwill provides reentry services for people who are leaving incarceration or have been otherwise involved in the criminal justice system. The program includes 16 weeks of on-the-job training in which participants are paid to learn skills.

“A lot of times, we hire those individuals into our organization to take different roles,” Boshears said. “Some of those people have come up in the ranks and are now even directors in our organization.”

Goodwill also offers a career-services office at most retail stores where anybody can learn soft skills such as resume-building and interviewing.

“We always look at doing whatever we can to help the community. Our mission is ‘changing lives through education, training and employment,’” Boshears said. “That kind of runs the gamut and allows us to offer a lot of different programs to people.”

There are also some programs geared toward children. Books 4 Kids provides donated books to the community, and the organization has also partnered with Little Rock Bright Futures to help provide resources to students of the Little Rock School District.

“We’re very nimble in a lot of ways,” Boshears said. “If something makes sense for us to get involved with and help the community, we take that on.”

For example, Goodwill provided assistance in central Arkansas and Wynne after the March 31 tornados.

“You don’t normally think of Goodwill as being a first responder, but we ended up finding out quickly how we could help, and that was running transportation and logistics and moving donations from center to center,” she said, adding that the organization stored and distributed massive amounts of donations. “We spent a good two months using a lot of our workforce and our trucks and helping out logistically because that’s really what we’re good at, and the city was in desperate need for that.”

Elba Romero graduates from the Excel Center.

Goodwill also gave away $100,000 in vouchers for tornado victims to use at its stores.

“It was a great opportunity for us to partner with people and show people how much we care about the community and give back,” she said. “There’s lots of things that we can do, and if it makes sense, we really want to do it.”

She added that the Gala for Good will allow the public to learn about Goodwill’s work beyond its retail outlets.

“One of the things that we’re trying to do here is be more philanthropic and be part of the community,” she said. “A lot of people don’t know that they can support Goodwill financially, so one of the things that I wanted to do was do a very public-facing event so that anybody that wants to come can come to it.”

AY Media Group will sponsor the gala, which will feature a plated dinner, signature cocktails, beer and wine, live and silent auctions, and a performance by the Ultimate Prince Tribute Band. Jay Chesshir, president and CEO of the Little Rock Regional Chamber, will serve as keynote speaker.

Goodwill will present awards such as Achiever of the Year, Graduate of the Year, Employer of the Year and Community Partner of the Year at the event.

“People who attend our gala will get to see these people, hear their stories directly from the people who are receiving these awards and learn about how our mission services really do change lives and affect those people here in Arkansas,” Boshears said.

She added that the first Community Partner of the Year award will be presented to the Dorcas House in Little Rock.

“We’ve had a great partnership with them throughout the past few years, and it’s a really great opportunity to honor them,” she said. “So many of our services overlap with other nonprofit services in the state, and I think the more we can all partner together, the more we can have more impact on people here.”

The highlight of the gala will be the presentation of the Spirit of Goodwill Award, which will honor an individual who has devoted time, talent and effort to advocate and promote Goodwill’s mission. This year’s recipient will be Troy Wells, president and CEO of Baptist Health.

Troy Wells

Boshears said this year is a fitting time to honor Wells because he will be ending his two-year stint as board chair this term.

“We felt like we wanted to honor him with this first award as somebody who really embodies the Spirit of Goodwill,” she said. “He’s done such a great job leading this board the past couple of years, and he really has that heart for what we do and knows how important that workforce is to the economy of Arkansas and all the organizations that are desperate for hiring that workforce.”

Wells said that there are plenty of other people besides him who are deserving of the award.

“It’s really humbling, and I’m extremely honored that they would think of me for this occasion and this recognition,” he said. “I really give credit to the long-standing board members who have been through all the years with Goodwill of Arkansas.”

He added that the board is remarkable for having dedicated, long-standing members.

“I realized pretty quickly that people that have served on that board have done so for a very long time and, through both difficult times and successful times, have guided and steered that organization well,” he said. “Some of the board members, they’ve had multiple generations of family members serve on that board, so there’s a lot of history, a lot of care and concern for this organization that does so many great things throughout our state.”

Wells said that when he started getting to know Goodwill staff about 10 years ago, he was most impressed by the mission behind the sticks-and-bricks retail stores.

“What intrigued me about Goodwill was when I learned about what they’re really all about,” he said. “All these programs and things that help lift people up and give them opportunities is really what motivated me to get more involved, and that ultimately led to me being asked to serve on the board.”

He said helping adults earn their high school diplomas is one of his proudest accomplishments as a board member.

“That’s a big deal for so many people and really can be a launching point for a different life once they’ve done that and accomplished that,” he said. “I’m really proud of that because it’s so unique. It’s the only place in Arkansas that people can do that.”

He added that he is also proud of the way the organization has expanded over the years.

“Our footprint’s gotten bigger,” he said. “We’ve gotten into different parts of the state and grown the organization. It just drives more opportunities for more people, so it’s not just having more retail stores; it’s driving people to be engaged in Goodwill, giving other people opportunities to improve their lives through the work that Goodwill does and creates jobs.”

He credited Brian Marsh, president and CEO of Goodwill, with building a talented leadership team that helped grow the organization and said he will remain on the board to support Miguel Lopez when he becomes the new board chair.

Wells said he supports Goodwill both personally and through his work at Baptist Health.

“We have a partnership with Goodwill,” he said. “One of the training programs is for the health care setting, so we’ll continue to support that and be involved there.”

For the program that trains environmental services technicians, Baptist built hospital rooms at the Goodwill campus where students are trained for two or three weeks before being hired by the health care system, Wells added.

“It helps Baptist because it creates a talent pool,” he said. “When they come to us, they’re ready to go. We don’t have to do more training and on-boarding and all that. It’s basically been done by Goodwill, so it’s a great, great partnership.”

He said he hopes the organization will continue to expand and that the public will become more aware of Goodwill’s nonprofit model and the work that it does beyond the retail operation.

The gala will provide an opportunity to show appreciation for the Goodwill team, he added.

“I’m looking forward to another opportunity to celebrate Goodwill and the work that it does and to thank all the people there who support Goodwill in many, many ways and to recognize the staff and the team,” he said. “Every time we get together, we like to do that, and I’m just really looking forward to being with the Goodwill family and having a celebration.”

Cathy Tuggle

Cathy Tuggle, event chair, said she has known Wells for many years and served with him on boards such as the Little Rock Regional Chamber.

“He is probably the most giving and just a wonderful, wonderful man that is definitely deserving of this award,” she said. “He’s got a heart of gold. He’s just a really, really good person. He would give the shirt off his back for anybody.”

She said the event will provide some 600 attendees with the opportunity to learn about Goodwill’s work in education, training and employment.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of people in the room who are going to hear so many different stories from all walks of life of different people that have been touched by Goodwill and have received these certifications,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a very inspirational evening.”

Her son became a certified welder through Goodwill, she said, adding that they were looking at trade schools throughout the state, but Goodwill was, “right here under our nose.” The Gala will help spread the word about those trade services to potential employers who might not be aware of the programs, she said.

“I think a lot of different organizations and companies within the state of Arkansas that are in need of hiring those different people or trades, they’ll be able to contact Goodwill and fill those positions,” she added. “I think it will help the workforce throughout the state.”

Presented by Bank OZK, the Gala for Good will begin at 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Venue at Westwind in North Little Rock. More information is available at GoodwillAR.org/gala.

“If you can come to the Gala, it’s going to be a great opportunity to see what we do. The more you look into Goodwill, the more you find all the good that we do here in Arkansas,” Boshears said. “If you’re in another organization that wants to partner with us, let’s talk. If you’re somebody that needs help in any way and any of our services can help, we’re here to do that, so the more people we can partner with, the more people we can help.”