Want to know where the jobs are? Just follow Goodwill.

Research in the region shows that future employment opportunities are in: healthcare, information technology, administrative/clerical and, importantly, hospitality/retail.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit, Wayne County Community College, the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute and CVS/Pharmacy are coordinating the Detroit Hospitality/Retail Career Center funded by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth and Detroit Workforce Development Department. START is a Skillls, Tasks, and Results Training for participants seeking careers in retail, hospitality and lodging. Our students receive 180 hours of classroom and hands-on instruction covering all aspects of hotel operations, skills-based training 12 hospitality and retail positions, instruction in guest services, professionalism and safety, industry-recognized certification upon completing the program, as well as 18 Continuing Education Units. Employers receive free recruitment and pre-screening, criminal background checks, drug screening, accommodations for interviewing and employment consultation. There is an expanded labor pool, with employee assistance services, reduce employee turnover, work opportunity tax credits, targeted jobs tax credits and a diverse applicant pool.

Detroit mirrors the national in moving toward a service economy. With all our all our new hotels, new restaurants and new development, Goodwill is meeting the community’s needs with trained hospitality and retail employees. This program is good for all our employer partners and good for the people we serve. Once again, we are playing to our strength – preparing the workforce for today’s jobs….trained, trusted and ready to work.

Bowling for Jobs!

Just when you think you know all about the place where you live, you learn something new.

With 100 local bowling centers and more than 85,000 registered league bowlers (adult & youth), Metro Detroit is considering the Bowling Capital of the World. Being a very recreational, casual bowler at best (my mom has me beat…she still bowls a 100 at age 86), I was totally unaware.

Goodwill along with Blue Ribbon Bowling Centers, Michigan Business & Professional Association and Michigan Food & Beverage Association have created a bowling extravaganza for the dedicated bowlers as well as occasional bowlers around Metro Detroit.

Goodwill’s Motor City Bowl-A-Thon will be going on during the entire month of March. Please join us anytime in March for a great time for a great cause. For every team that competes, Goodwill receives $105. For more information: www.motorcitysbowlathon.com



Russ Russell, Vice President of Development, Marketing, & Public Relations shares why being a part of the Goodwill's Motor City Bowl-A-Thon is important:

Dine out for Goodwill!

Many of us are always so glad to see Friday roll around. But then, on Friday night, we end up not doing much of anything – we just veg out on the couch. Too often, that’s the case in my house.

There are two weeks coming up, though, where you will want to plan to save some energy to make it out on Friday night. It’s all part of Cuisine for a Cause.

First, if you dine at Opus One on Friday or Saturday, February 22nd and 23rd, 25% of your guest check goes to Goodwill.

Then, on April 25th, for only $100 a ticket, you can have a really great evening out. It’s a big event benefiting 10 charities that includes fine wines, hors d'oeuvres and lots of great company. But the best part is that for the tickets that Goodwill sells, Goodwill gets $80 on each of those $100 tickets sold. That’s a great return, don’t you think?

You can also view our Cuisine for a Cause promo in the video below, and to purchase tickets to this wonderful event call: 313.964.3900 ext.302

We hope to see you far away from your couch and supporting Goodwill.

A New Direction…Opportunities for Today & Tomorrow

As we all recognize Detroit is the city proudly known for motion and music-the Motor City and Motown…..and as GM turns 100 years old in 2008 we are reminded once again how important manufacturing and automobiles have been to our city’s and region’s success over the years. But we all know that has been changing and we need to retool ourselves for the opportunities of today and tomorrow. Just look at all the enhancements at our 3 casinos. Based on the research that Goodwill funded several years ago the jobs of today and tomorrow in this region are in administrative/clerical, healthcare, information technology, and hospitality/retail. Goodwill is collaborating with the City of Detroit and Wayne Community College to train people for the hospitality and retail business. It is important for us to work jointly with these and other groups to prepare all that want to experience the “power of work” with the tools and preparation for jobs of today and tomorrow.

Focus on the Economy, Creating Jobs

Well, this week, the Presidential races changed quite a bit for both Democrats and Republicans, as the field narrowed down to two candidates per party.

Now, it’s easier to focus on what each of the candidates are saying. For those of who are in the job creation business, now is the time to see what each of them have to say about how the U.S. economy can be improved and how we keep creating good jobs for our citizens.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit excels creating opportunities within our own organization for good jobs or with our partners in the corporate community. Some of those corporate business relationships span many years.

For example, our partnership with DTE has been successful for more than 60 years and with Ford for more than 80 years.

A relationship you might not expect is ours with Downtown Detroit Partnership and the Clean Downtown partnership where Goodwill had and has more than100 employees and trainees working to keep Downtown Detroit clean and ready visitors at all times. The next time you are Downtown look for the Clean Downtown folks and know that many of them are getting a great chance to work through Goodwill - earning a first paycheck, getting a bank account for the first time and for many of them, reconnecting with their families.

That is what the power of work does for a person and that is what Goodwill is all about.