Goodwill Opens Third Veterans Career Center

By Chuck N. Baker
Goodwill of Southern Nevada is well known to veterans and non-veterans alike for its familiar blue-colored name fronting its retail stores that sell previously owned merchandise. The company even shows up in newspaper cartoons. Recently a comic strip showed a young woman asking her father what he was doing. He replied, “I’m donating some of my clothes to Goodwill. They’re in good shape, but I’ve outgrown them.” The daughter answers, “So gaining weight is for a worthy cause!” And in the last panel while his wife looks on, the guilty-looking father is eating ice cream and explains, “Honest, sweetheart, this is all for charity.” (Drum roll, please!)

Goodwill is certainly all for charity. And in addition to its many retail stores around Southern Nevada, it also operates Veterans Career Centers that provide many services at no cost.

Its latest center is located at 741 South Rainbow. The center is part of its larger Veterans Integration Program that is supported by a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The grant was awarded specifically to serve transitioning military members and their families.

Jennifer Ramieh, Director of Philanthropy for Goodwill, said “Many people don’t know our mission. And our mission is to find jobs.” In particular, the mission of the Veterans Integration program is to help make it easier for those who served to transition into the civilian workforce. “The number one thing frustrating veterans when they transition out of the military is getting into sustainable employment.” Ramieh points out civilian individuals in Human Resources often feel if a veteran served in combat, or worked with weapons or tanks or airplanes, that person might not fit into a job that requires sitting at a desk, interfacing with the public or working in a group setting.

“There are a lot of other skills that military members acquire during their time of service,” Ramieh says.  She added, “Whether it’s leadership or how to work within a structure of an organization, I think that’s what we try to highlight as well as some of those other skills that were developed in the military.

“We also help family members,” she noted. “Spouses may have spotty work histories because they’ve been transferred around to different bases through the career of the veteran. So we want to help the spouses as well.”

Ramieh points out that age is not a problem for Goodwill. Young or old, a DD214 is generally all that is needed. “If you served our country, come in and see us,” she says.

The nonprofit has workshops that provide help with resume building and interview skills. She explained during the last several years, “We’ve worked with about 150 employers in placing veterans.”

Goodwill itself is also an employer of former military men and women. “We have a number [of ex-military] in our program,” she said. “We have veterans who work in HR. Our safety officer is a veteran. Our head of facilities is a veteran. Everywhere you turn, we have veterans who work in our program.”

While the recent government grant has been a great help, Goodwill also relies on personal financial donations. And the generosity of the public donating used goods to be sold at retail stores is much appreciated.