Goodwill Breaks Ground on Easley Center

Officials with Goodwill know that the new location in Easley will not only connect bargain-seekers with deals, but residents with new jobs and careers.

The new location is being built on Saco Lowell Road. Officials broke ground on the new location in a special ceremony Tuesday morning.

“We're really happy to be here today for lots and lots of reasons,” said Pat Michaels, President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands South Carolina.

The Job Connection will help people go back to work, Michaels said.

“When somebody has a barrier to employment comes to Goodwill, really what they're getting is our best,” he said. “And our best is to try and meet them where they are, identify what their skills are, identify what their barriers are and we'll work with them to overcome that.”

Last year, Goodwill placed over 8,600 people in jobs in 16 counties in the Upstate and Midlands of South Carolina, Michaels said.

The Upstate Goodwill ranks 7th in job placement in the entire country, he said.

“We placed more people in jobs than the Goodwill in Charlotte or Washington, D.C., or Minneapolis or Denver or Dallas or Houston or San Francisco or Oakland,” Michaels said. “We really owe that to the commitment and the support that the community provides Goodwill.”

The current Easley Goodwill does not have a Job Connection.

“We don't have training facilities,” Michaels said. “We will here.”

The Goodwill Board of Directors is committed to reaching out to the Pickens County and Easley communities “in the same way the community has reached out and supported Goodwill,” he said. “This is a pretty significant commitment on the part of Goodwill to invest the capitol and provide the services.”

The new location has value in itself - it will add 7-10 new jobs, bringing the number of people employed at the Easley Goodwill to around 20-25, Michael said.

“But it's really for the value to the people who will come in and say, 'I want to work but I can't,'” Michaels said. “'I've always been on welfare, my mom was on welfare. 'I don't speak the language very well.' 'I'm just out of prison and I don't want to go back, but I don't know what I can do.' And Goodwill says, 'We know what you can do and we can help you.'”

He asked those present at the ceremony to “spend some time letting people know what the true mission of Goodwill is.”

Goodwill Job Connections provide free assistance to help job seekers connect with potential employers and find permanent employment.  Services include access to resources like computers and the internet, fax machines, telephones, and job leads and referrals.  A trained employment specialist is on site to assist individuals with their job search.  Goodwill Job Connections can also serve as a resource for employers.  Job Connections can also serve as a resource for employers by providing pre-screening of applicants, space for on-site interviewing, or organization of Job Fairs to help fill open positions.

Greater Easley Chamber of Commerce President Cindy Hopkins said those 8,600 jobs in the Upstate create a huge economic impact.

“The role that you play in education and training that leads to employment (is valuable),” Hopkins said. “The 8,000 jobs in the Midlands and the Upstate – that's in one year – that equates to about $75 million in economic impact to those communities collectively, because of those wages. For the Chamber of Commerce, that's what it's all about – creating jobs and putting those economic dollars back into our community, to sustain our other businesses where those wages are being spent. We wish you much success.”

While Goodwill is a private business, its outcome is “totally social,” Michaels said.

“It is about improving communities by improving lives and families one job at a time,” he said.

The new location will much be bigger than the current Easley Goodwill – 20,000 square feet vs. 4,000 square feet. Crystal Hardesty, Director of Marketing for Goodwill, says the new location will open next spring.