Goodwill opens Job-Link Family Resource Center
Southwest Florida residents have a new local resource to turn to for employment assistance and other social services. Mayor Randy Henderson cut the ribbon to commemorate the opening of Goodwill’s new Job-Link Family Resource Center on Wednesday morning, June 30. More than 50 people in need of social services waited patiently for the facility’s doors to open.
Goodwill Industries is the nation’s largest non-profit provider of employment services. Job-Link coordinators assist clients with resume preparation, interviewing skills, and access to online employment opportunities. Career and job skills training are also available at Goodwill Job-Link centers.
The Fort Myers Job-Link center (4162 Palm Beach Boulevard) is Goodwill’s fifth in Southwest Florida, joining offices in North Fort Myers, Clewiston, Port Charlotte, and Bonita Springs. The Fort Myers office is unique, however, because it also houses other nonprofit agencies.
CCMI, Catholic Charities, Literacy Council, Literacy Volunteers of Lee County, and NAMI Lee County currently have offices in the Palm Beach Boulevard Job-Link, and others will have programs at the center. Services provided by these agencies include food stamp application assistance, English language classes, mental health information, credit counseling and money management.
The new Job-Link center is also home to Goodwill’s GoodGuides youth mentoring program, which prepares at-risk youth for their futures through guidance from trusted adults.
“By partnering with these agencies, we’ve expanded our Job-Link center into a one-stop shop for the residents of Palm Beach Boulevard,” explains Rick Evanchyk, Goodwill’s Vice President of Administrative Services. “There’s a lot of need for these services in this community.”
The center is located next to Goodwill’s Retail & Donation Center and is open from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. “By placing the Job-Link center next to our store, we hope more people will discover what Goodwill’s mission is all about,” says Kirsten O’Donnell of Goodwill. “Plus, a lot of our shoppers are the same folks who need these services, and we want to make it as easy as possible for people to get the help they need.”
The Job-Link Family Resource Center accepts drop-in clients, though not all services are offered every day. Persons interested in making an appointment at the Job-Link center may call 693-9304.
Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida operates 24 Retail & Donation Centers throughout Southwest Florida in order to support programs and services for people with disabilities and other disadvantages. These programs include job training and placement, income-subsidized housing for senior citizens and people with disabilities, the Four Wheels For Work vehicle assistance program, the L.I.F.E. Academy charter school, and youth mentoring programs.
More information about Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida is available at www.goodwillswfl.org.