Ohio Valley Goodwill Puts People to Work!

For almost 100 years, Ohio Valley Goodwill has been putting people to work in the Greater Cincinnati area. While most of the public are very aware of Goodwill’s 15 retail stores and attended donation centers, significantly less are familiar with the true mission of the organization. The real story of Goodwill and its role as an employment and training center is taking on more and more importance these days as community members are in need of job placement assistance.

Recently, Ohio Governor John Kasich passed legislation in the State of Ohio which mandated an emphasis on ” Employment First.” The purpose of this legislative commitment was to renew Ohio’s determination to help people with developmental disabilities to find jobs in the community. At Goodwill, this has been part of our on-going commitment for more than 98 years. Annually, the organization serves more than 3000 people and in 2012 helped more than 825 to find to jobs in the Greater Cincinnati community.

Goodwill has taken its commitment to ” Employment First” a step further in ensuring that its Job Placement staff team members have received specific training in the principles of the legislation and have received the corresponding credentials. ” While Goodwill has always been a leader in helping people to receive skill training and obtain jobs in the Greater Cincinnati community, we have updated our program design to ensure that job seekers are receiving more individualized services with lower caseloads for our placement team members,” said Aimee Rittner, Asst. Director of Community Based Services. ” This makes the placement process more efficient and outcomes-oriented, which of course, keeps both our employers and our new employees happy,” added Rittner.

In the New Year, Goodwill’s efforts to help put people to work become even more critical as the organization is working closely with long-time partner, Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services, (HCDDS), to help individuals achieve their personal goals. Hamilton County DD Services provides a comprehensive array of support services to almost 10,000 individuals and families in the Greater Cincinnati community that include educational, residential, vocational and case management. The organization is on the ballot in May of this year and the proposed tax levy provides almost 70% of the board’s operating monies. Goodwill is a proud supporter of Hamilton County DD Services and provides services to almost 700 individuals through the long-time partnership.

As the New Year begins, Ohio Valley Goodwill looks forward to its renewed commitment to putting people to work and implementing its newly updated individualized job placement process. To find out more about Goodwill’s job placement programs, please visit www.cincinnatigoodwill.org/services. For interested employers, you may also wish to visit www.goodwillemploymentservices.com

At Goodwill, we put people to work!