SuccessGrowth
DignityIndependence
SelfConfidence
OpportunityRespect
Empowered
SelfRelience
Achievement
Annual Report2009-2010
Fiscal Year 2009-2010Outcomes
• Good Vocations/GoodwillIndustries, in conjunctionwith NISH and theAbilityOne Program,has been training andplacing individuals withdisabilities into meaningfuljobs at Robins Air ForceBase for more than 29years and at Fort Gordonfor more than 15 years
• Provided over 130,000training hours to job-seeking clients, mostwith severe disabilities
• Last year, commissaryworkers stocked over1.3 million cases ofgroceries at Robins AirForce Base and FortGordon
• Clean over 5.5 millionsquare feet per day atRobins Air Force Baseand Fort Gordon
People with disabilities constitute the nation's largest minority group, and
the only group any of us can become a member of at any time. Approximately
54 million Americans have at least one disability. As our baby boomer
population ages and more veterans return from war,
this number will double in the next 20 years.
Goodwill has been training and placing individuals
with disabilities into meaningful jobs at Robins Air
Force Base for more than 29 years and at Fort
Gordon for more than 15 years. There are currently
190 employees and trainees at Robins Air force
Base and Fort Gordon. Without Good Vocation’s help, any of these individuals
could be one of the more than 21 million people with disabilities nationwide
who are not working.
Since 1998, Good VocationsSM, an autonomous subsidiary of Goodwill of
Middle Georgia and the CSRA, has provided job skills training for individuals
with disabilities. This training helps people with barriers to employment
prepare for jobs that provide good wages, good benefits, and lead to greater
independence and quality of life.
Good VocationsSM creates training programs to meet specific needs of the
employer. Most employment opportunities are made possible through job
contracts at federal facilities and procured through the AbilityOne Program –
the largest single source of employment for people with disabilities in the
United States.
Trainees receive paid training, equitable wages, and opportunities for
advancement in positions producing products and services for federal
customers, such as Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins and Fort
Gordon in Augusta.
Jobs cover a wide range of service sectors including, custodial services,
manufacturing and assembly work, stocking, fleet services, vehicle
retro-fitting, and warehousing.
It has been an honor to lead the board of Good Vocations this past year. Your
support to our organization ensure that we will be able to grow our services and
programs to people with disabilities.. Everyone deserves the opportunity to
work. Thank you for helping us provide this chance.
JonathanAldermanBoard Chair Good Vocations, Inc.
Vivian WilsonFort Gordon
Vivian had been battling severe arthritis, degenerative joint disease and carpel tunnel
and looking for work for nearly three years before she was hired by Good Vocations in
July of 1999. Her lack of transportation and reliable child care hampered her search
efforts, and she was hopeless with no means to help herself or her children. Through
DFACS, Vivian learned about training classes offered by Goodwill. The skills she
acquired through these classes prepared her for a job with Good Vocations at Fort
Gordon Commissary. Hopelessness was transformed to confidence and pride as
Vivian was able to apply new skills and earn a living to support herself and her family.
Vivian says her two children were "thrilled" with her employment, and they are so
proud of her accomplishment.
Today Vivian is a LeadWorker whose goals are to keep working and to achieve her very best. She says a life of
independence is so much better than having to depend on others. Vivian loves the opportunity that her job provides
to help others who are in training at Fort Gordon. Vivian says working is important and takes away the worry of not
being able to take care of yourself. According to Vivian, "Goodwill gives you a chance no matter how bad life may
seem. Simply trust in yourself, and Goodwill will be a barrier breaker."
Wilbert JohnsonRobins Air Force Base
A bad economy and bad knees kept Wilbert Johnson out of the workforce for 16
months. His life was hard and seemed unfair. Hired by Good Vocations as a
Lead Worker in September of 2009, Wilbert is now a vital member of a successful
custodial team at Warner Robins Air Force Base. Wilbert learned of Goodwill
services from other Goodwill employees and says his job has provided a stable
income and has also given him an opportunity to set future goals to achieve with
Good Vocations. Wilbert says he sees his job as a career, and he hopes to
become a Project Manager. Employment has helped Wilbert to strengthen life
and communications skills. He loves the benefit of an extended family through
his work at Robins Air Force Base. In Wilbert's words, "Goodwill offers a lot of
great things for people who need help and people who need to change their way of life". Wilbert's former life
of hardship has been transformed by determination and achievement.
The mission of Good VocationsSM is to build lives, families
and communities –one job at a time– by helping people
discover and develop their God-given gifts through work and
career development services.
• 69% of Americans who are blindor have a significant disability donot have jobs
• People with disabilities are mostat risk with regards to employment
• Americans with disabilities want towork and only need the opportunityto make that happen
Jonathan Alderman(Chair)
Anderson, Walker & Reichert, LLP
Kathy BowdenMacon-Bibb County Industrial Authority
Paul HartR.A. Bowen Construction
Jonathan MartinConstangy, Brooks, and Smith LLP
Beverly McCullough(Secretary/Treasurer)
Bibb County Schools Workforce Development
Robert Morton(Vice Chair)
Secure Health Plans of GA, LLC
Raymond H. Smith, Jr.(Past Chair)
Smith, Brown, & Groover Inc.
2010 Good Vocations Board of Directors
Good Vocations has grown in the last fourteen years from $670k to over $8 million in revenue and aworkforce growing from 49 persons to over 200.
“Ability One” Contract Site Listings:
Commissary Contractat RobinsAir Force BaseAt Robins Air Force
Base in Warner
Robins, GA, Good
Vocations provides
warehousing, receiving,
shelf stocking and
custodial services.
This contract began
its 29th year on April 30, 2010, it employs 34 people,
most of whom have severe disabilities.
Commissary Contractat Fort Gordon
Good Vocations provides warehousing, receiving,
shelf stocking, and custodial services at Fort Gordon
in Augusta, GA. This contract has been successful
for 14 years and employs 28 people, most of whom
have severe disabilities.
Robins Air Force Base Custodial
At Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, GA,
Good Vocations provides competitive professional
custodial services to the majority of the buildings at
Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, GA. This
contract started 22 years ago with one building with
80,000 square feet of cleaning space and employed
about 18 persons with severe disabilities; today this
contract has grown to 280 buildings, with over 4 million
square feet of cleaning space and employs over 110
people, most of whom have severe disabilities.
Fort Gordon Custodial andDay Care Center
Good Vocations is responsible for cleaning over 100
government buildings as well as the Day Care Center
located at Fort Gordon inAugusta, GA. This contract
beganAugust 2, 2010 and employs 45 people, most
of whom have severe disabilities.
Good VocationsSM is managed byGoodwill Industries of Middle Georgia, Inc.