Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries

July 26th, 2012 marks the 22nd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), federal legislation which recognizes and protects the civil rights of people with disabilities. The ADA addresses accessibility in all aspects of community life including public accommodation, commercial facilities, public transportation and of particular relevance to Ohio Valley Goodwill, employment.Goodwill’s mission is to help people with disabilities to obtain the skills and support  they need in order to get a job in the community, if this is their chosen vocational goal.

For the past 96 years, Ohio Valley Goodwill has helped thousands of individuals to achieve economic self-sufficiency as they have entered the workforce and become productive, tax-paying citizens. Goodwill takes great pride in the personal success of these men and women.

On the occasion of the 22nd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Ohio Valley Goodwill would like to salute this ground-breaking federal legislation which protects the civil rights of all people with disabilities and provides enhanced accessibility to the workplace.

Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a new federal resources grant that will provide critical services for homeless and low-income veterans in Cincinnati. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that Ohio Valley Goodwill would receive the new grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Supportive Service for Veteran Families (SSVF) program. The $596,984 grant will be used to provide supportive services to low-income veteran families living in or transitioning to permanent housing.

“The men and women of the Armed  Forces have made a promise that if they defend our country, a grateful nation will provide for them with services and benefits they have earned,” Brown, a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs said. “These federal funds are a down payment in the promise to support those who have already given so much to our nation.”

The grant was awarded through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program which aims to prevent homelessness among veterans. Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries Rehabilitation Center, Inc. plans to serve nearly 200 participant households in Cincinnati and surrounding counties. Strategies to End Homelessness and the Vineyard Community Church will be major partners working with Goodwill to ensure the wide range of services is available to making this grant a success.

For more than twenty years, Ohio Valley Goodwill has been offering programs and services to meet the needs of veterans and homeless individuals. “We are proud of the programs and services that we have been offering since the 1990′s that help to serve veterans, as well as the successes that we have had in the area of housing for our veterans,” said Charlie Blythe, Goodwill’s Grant Director.

Last year (2011), Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries provide service to more that 650 veterans and homeless individuals. For more information about Ohio Valley Goodwill’s programs and services to serve veterans and homeless individuals, please contact Charlie Blythe at (513) 771-4800,ext. 6345 or at: cblythe@cincigoodwill.org

Saturday, July 14th marked the celebration of the Grand Re-Opening of Goodwill’s Harrison store location which recently underwent a cosmetic update. The store features new display floor fixtures, a newly re-painted interior, and lots of shopper-friendly touches to make the store more appealing. To celebrate the occasion, the store invited shoppers to enjoy a lunch-time Grill-Out as well as a raffle drawing which offered a laptop computer and a digital camera as grand prizes. More than a hundred people stopped by for the big event and enjoyed the special 50% off sale taking place in the newly updated Harrison location.

“At Goodwill, we’re always trying to improve the shopper experience at our network of retail store locations,” said Ann Walters, Retail Sales Manager. “The Harrison update is just the most recent example of our on-going efforts to enhance our customer’s visits to Goodwill,” added Walters. For a list of all of Ohio Valley Goodwill’s retail stores and boutique locations, please visit www.cincinnatigoodwill.org/shop and “Like” us on Facebook for special coupons and sales promotions at www.facebook.com/cincigoodwill

L to R: Ribbon cutting of new Aurora, IN Attended Donation Center – center, Mayor Donnie W. Hastings, Vanessa Cash, Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce, Connie Cleary, Dearborn Chamber of Commerce, with Goodwill staff

Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries is pleased to announce that the organization has opened a new Attended Donation Center in Aurora, Indiana located at 1030 Green Blvd. The new facility will be open for donations Monday through Saturday from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm and on Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. For the convenience of donors, the center will be staffed by an attendant who will assist contributors with their donations and offer them a receipt.

The new donation facility accepts clean, usable clothing and shoes, household items including small electric appliances and kitchen items, seasonal items, sporting goods, furniture, computers and even auto donations. For customer convenience, Ohio Valley Goodwill handles all the paperwork to make vehicle donations as simple and easy as possible.  In addition to being able to accept auto donations at the new Aurora, Indiana donation center, Goodwill is encouraging donors to donate their unwanted computers and equipment as Ohio Valley Goodwill is a partner in the Dell Reconnect program. Working together with Dell, Goodwill collects and recycles e-waste to keep it from going into landfills.  The Dell and Goodwill partnership was formed because Goodwill has a long-standing reputation as an entrepreneurial leader, environmental pioneer  and social innovator of the “reduce, reuse , re-purpose” movement. The Goodwill/Dell Reconnect partnership offers FREE computer recycling at all Greater Cincinnati retail and donation center locations and helps to raise awareness about the importance of responsibly recycling used computers.

“We are so pleased to be a part of the Aurora community and to be able to offer the area a convenient way to donate to Goodwill Industries and be a part of the recycling process,” said Gail Hana, Goodwill’s Vice President for contributed Goods. ”The local community has embraced our mission of donating unwanted clothing and household items to support men and women with disabilities when we placed a donation trailer earlier this year at the Hollywood Casino parking lot. We have been so pleased with the support that we’ve received and I know this new Aurora location will receive the same community support,” mentioned Hana.

Ohio Valley Goodwill appreciates the donations that it receives from the community helping to benefit the programs and services that it provides for men and women with disabilities, homeless veterans and others with barriers to employment. Last year (2011), the organization served over 3,100 individuals and placed 818 into competitive community jobs. With support from the community, Goodwill puts people to work!

Ohio Valley Goodwill’s Center for Advocacy, Recreation and Education, (known as CARE), took center stage during the World Choir Games in Cincinnati this past week. On Thursday, July 12th, a member of the CARE program, Zach Ettinger, performed for hundreds of enthusiastic on-lookers as one of the singers for a group called Melodic Connections. Melodic Connections is comprised of board certified music therapists and other like-minded people dedicated to empowering the lives of individuals through musical expression and performance. Zach has been a choir member of Melodic Connections for several years.

The performance was made even more memorable by the ardent support of CARE program participants and staff who attended the performance to support Zach but also to enjoy the experience of the World Choir Games. The CARE program at Goodwill is designed to provide enriching opportunities for individuals with disabilities served by the agency and their participation in the Games was just the most recent example of the many things that they do. “We are thrilled for Zach and Melodic Connections about their performance today but also just excited to be part of this world-wide event,” said Lois Kramer, CARE Program Supervisor.

The CARE group took time to really explore all of the attractions of the World Choir event stopping to pose with dragons and Flying Pig sculptures on Fountain Square and to enjoy the performance of the Chinese and German choirs. ”It was just a really fun and memorable day for all of us. We felt like we all really captured the spirit of the games,” said Kramer.

For more information about the CARE program, please contact Lois Kramer at (513) 771-4800, ext 6315 or email: lkramer@cincigoodwill.org. To schedule a tour of the CARE program, please contact Sharon Hannon at (513) 771-4800, ext. 6364.

Ohio Valley Goodwill took the opportunity to reach out and thank its many volunteers that stepped forward to assist with its recent 2012 Celebrity Golf Outing with a special raffle.  “We wanted to help celebrate the efforts and energy that our many volunteers give each year to help us in

Linda Eslick, Member of Goodwill Service Guild and winner of gift basket

presenting our golf outing,” said Joe Byrum, President and CEO of Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries.  Winner of a “Best of Cincinnati” gift basket was Linda Eslick, a member of the Goodwill Service Guild who had volunteered to help with the registration for the outing.  Other winners in the raffle received Nike golf hats and were: Jenny Dexter of Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services (HCDDS), Craig Landers, HCDDS, Jennifer Newcomb, HCDDS, Katie Wietmarschen, HCDDS, Tricia Franke, HCDDS, Nathaniel McCoy, Goodwill and Eric Scott, Goodwill.

Ohio Valley Goodwill was especially pleased to have the enthusiastic volunteer team from long-time partner Hamilton County DD Services involved with the 2012 Goodwill Celebrity Golf Outing for the first time. ”It was great to have our friends from HCDDS be a part of this important community outreach event this year,” said Leslie McCurley, Asst. Director of DD Services.

Proceeds raised from the annual golf outing are used to support Goodwill’s mission of providing employment and training services for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.