Assisting Youth Reach Their Potential by Larry Jones,
The Helping Hand of Goodwill Industries Executive Director.
I remember toward the end of my high school days the “senior anxiety” in trying to figure out what to do next…. Should I go to work or college? If I go on to college, what should I study? My high school graduation was coming fast and I knew developing my future plans was a very important next step.
Imagine if you will, a high school student with a disability facing this same situation. All the normal stresses and anxiety one has near graduation, but with added challenges of having a disability.
Goodwill’s School to Work Program was established out of a community need to assist high school students with disabilities further develop their vocational plans prior to graduation. While Goodwill has always provided services to high school youth, the focus has become more comprehensive. Instead of helping a student find a job for to sake of being employed, today, the emphasis is working with the individual to reach a vocational objective that they really want and can achieve. This approach provides long term impact and sends the message to a disabled youth that you can do anything you set out to achieve – just like everyone else in their graduating class.
Since its inception six years ago, this program has expanded into more than 25 school districts in the community. Our staff is part of a team that includes their high school counselors, parents and teachers. Once a student identifies their vocational goals, Goodwill staff assists the student in identifying the pathway to achieve the goals. In some cases this means going directly into the workforce. Other situations may involve a student obtaining additional education and our staff works with the student to identify appropriate schools to consider.
It’s a great feeling knowing that Goodwill makes such an impact on young people in our community who face the added challenge by having a disability. Being part of an Organization that sends the message to youth who are disabled, “you can do anything you want” and then helping them achieve this goal puts our mission into motion.
The future of our School to Work program is exciting. Goodwill plans to continue expanding into new school districts and reaching new communities who need our services. In doing so, we will always continue to deliver on our mission one student at a time. Assisting high school students achieve their potential through this program makes me very proud to be part of Goodwill in our community.
