By KENT A. KRAMER
Guest Columnist
At the turn of the century, Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana opened its first retail store in Hamilton County, and since then, we’ve considered ourselves a part of this community. We’ve expanded our retail footprint to nine stores – in Westfield, Carmel, Fishers, and Noblesville – with a 10th store planned near Geist Reservoir, but the impact goes far beyond retail, as you’ll see in the following paragraphs.
Thanks to the generous residents of Hamilton County, who have shopped and donated to Goodwill over the past quarter-century, as well as the city leaders who have graciously welcomed us, countless lives have been changed in our community.
Goodwill employs more than 500 Hamilton County residents – nearly one-third of whom are persons with disabilities – like Kelsey G., who was hired as an associate at the Fishers retail store eight years ago. Born with a mild intellectual disability, Kelsey has transitioned to independent living and earned her driver’s license – two of her proudest achievements.
Goodwill also opened one of its earliest locations of The Excel Center, a tuition-free high school for adults, in Noblesville in 2015. Nearly 500 Hamilton County residents have since earned their high school diploma from The Excel Center, like Joselyn M. Following graduation, Joselyn enrolled at Ivy Tech Community College in Noblesville and was connected to a position as an Associate Banker through TalentSource, Goodwill’s in-house job placement team. Today her family is thriving.
The Excel Center in Noblesville currently serves 200 students and was one of the earliest locations to open in the network. This school helped illustrate the efficacy of Goodwill’s adult high school model, which has since expanded to 47 locations across 10 states. The school partnered with Ivy Tech Community College, which is located in the same building and provides graduates with a path to postsecondary education, where their dual credits from The Excel Center easily transfer and financial aid is available to reduce the cost barrier to college.
The Summer 2024 graduating class of The Excel Center in Noblesville. (Photo provided by Goodwill)
In addition, Goodwill Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), a program that pairs first-time, low-income parents with a registered nurse who makes home visits from pregnancy through the child’s second birthday, has served 58 parents in Hamilton County since 2021, when it first became available to residents. Today, several Goodwill NFP nurses serve 30 Hamilton County parents.
Dominique D. was a teenager when she learned she was pregnant and sought out the support of Goodwill NFP. During her pregnancy, she lived at the O’Connor House in Carmel and worked at a Goodwill store in Westfield – she also earned her high school diploma at The Excel Center.
Goodwill also works with several organizations in Hamilton County to provide employment services and support, including Samaritan Network, a host agency for Goodwill’s Senior Community Service Employment Program, which provides job training to seniors age 55 and over. In addition, Goodwill recently launched a pilot program with 2nd Chance Indiana that will serve justice-involved residents in Hamilton County, providing employment, coaching and other support services to individuals reentering the community.
Goodwill TalentSource has also been busy creating workforce development opportunities in Hamilton County. In partnership with The Excel Center in Noblesville and Ascension St. Vincent Hospital, TalentSource launched a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant training and paid externship program to address the hospital’s need for medical assistants. Goodwill TalentSource also connected IU Health and Aspire Indiana in Hamilton County with current Goodwill Excel Center students and alumni to help fill local health care career opportunities.
Finally, Goodwill Commercial Services developed impactful partnerships with Noble Industries, Inc. as well as Gared Performance Sports Systems (both in Noblesville), which together employ another two dozen individuals – most with job barriers – through Goodwill’s contract manufacturing division.
The Spring Mill Pointe retail store in Westfield held its grand opening in fall 2023. (Photo provided by Goodwill)
For Kelsey, Joselyn, Dominique, and countless others, their connections to Goodwill have been life-changing, and that’s because of people like you, who embrace the mission of Goodwill, and by doing so, empower people in our community, so THANK YOU for your continued support! Goodwill is more than just a thrift store. We’re proud to be part of this community and look forward to serving our neighbors for the next quarter century and beyond.
Kent A. Kramer serves as the President & CEO of Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana.