Ohio Valley Goodwill Welcomes Senator Portman’s Community Outreach Representative!

L to R: Robert Braggs, Community Outreach Representative for Senator Portman, Steve Koons, Director of Rehabilitation and Joe Byrum, President and CEO.

Ohio Valley Goodwill was pleased to welcome Mr. Robert Braggs, Community Outreach Representative for Senator Rob Portman, to the organization’s corporate headquarters on Tuesday, September 5th. The visit to Goodwill was to provide information for Mr. Braggs regarding the organization’s employment and training services for people with disabilities, our nation’s veterans as well as others with barriers to employment. In addition, Goodwill’s management team explained the critical concerns about current legislation and impacts of implementation on the people most in need of services.

Robert Braggs Meeting with Goodwill’s Community Services Team

Mr. Braggs was provided with a comprehensive tour of Goodwill’s training programs and learned about the more than 3,500 individuals served by the organization each year as well as the 1007 placed in community employment last year alone. The Community Outreach Representative was interested to find out more about the organization’s Community-Based Services including employment and job coaching as well as it’s Center for Advocacy, Recreation and Education (CARE) program where participation in community focused opportunities is a priority. Goodwill’s Training Services were also a highlight of the visit providing an overview of the skill training provided as well as how assistive technology can help individuals to be successful in future community employment.

In addition, Mr. Braggs toured the organization’s transitional dormitory for veterans challenged with homelessness and learned more about the scope of the program- serving more than 900 veterans and their families each year. Finally, the Community Outreach Representative visited the Work Adjustment training program to understand more about the various facility and community-based work opportunities available to individuals with developmental disabilities served through Goodwill’s partnerships with local County Boards of DD.

Discussion points during the visit focused on the current legislation impacting individuals with disabilities served by organizations like Ohio Valley Goodwill; critical work options through the AbilityOne program and the importance of individual choice in all decisions related to the provision of services for individuals with the most significant disabilities. Mr. Braggs indicated that he would relay the highlights of his visit to Goodwill to the Senator and his team and will continue to work collaboratively with the organization in the future.

Ohio Valley Goodwill is grateful to Mr. Braggs, Community Outreach Representative for Senator Rob Portman, for his timely visit to the organization’s programs and services and for his outreach on behalf of constituents with disabilities in Southwest Ohio.