Friday, July 20, 2007
Jul. 19, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
Goodwill Industries has opened a Career Connections Center in Rowan County and plans to build two new stores in Cabarrus County.
The facilities should help the nonprofit organization use the wealth of a growing region to help laid-off residents struggling to join in that prosperity, officials said.
Goodwill aims to plant stores in affluent areas of the Charlotte region to yield quality donations, and then will use the proceeds to fund its career assistance programs, said Bo Hussey, marketing and communications director for the Southern Piedmont Territory.
'We need that affluence,' Hussey said. 'We can't provide those very basic services (OTCBB:BICV) without those people making those donations.'
The Charlotte-based Southern Piedmont Territory, which covers Concord, is planning to open a store at Poplar Tent Road and George Liles Boulevard in the first half of 2008. Lease negotiations are in the final stages, Hussey said.
The Winston-Salem-based Northwest Territory, which covers Kannapolis, is planning to open a store across from Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) on Dale Earnhardt Boulevard by December. Construction is under way.
The Goodwill store already in Kannapolis at 1806 S. Cannon Blvd. will remain open, said Jaymie Moore, director of marketing and communications for the Northwest Territory.
All stores exist to fund Goodwill's career centers, Moore said. The Rowan center, located in Salisbury at 1923 S. Main St., has served about 75 people and placed 16 into jobs since opening in April. The next closest Goodwill centers are in Statesville and Lexington.
Many of those laid off need help to re-equip themselves to shift careers once manufacturing jobs depart, said Kerry Motley, the Rowan center's coordinator.
Motley, who works full-time along with a part-time employee, said the center is geared to provide an extra dose of free personalized attention for job seekers who lack basic skills such as computer training or resume building.
The center can then send clients diagonally across the street to Rowan's JobLink and Employment Security offices for referrals to potential employers.
Business has been picking up as word has spread, Motley said.
'A lot of those people don't have resumes, they don't have the skills they need to get a job in another field,' said Motley, who formerly worked with Cabarrus youth as a case manager. 'That's what we're here for.'
Following a practice already in place at some Northwest Territory stores, Goodwill may offer career services within its Concord store, Hussey said.
Goodwill Industries, founded in 1902, has operated in North Carolina for more than 80 years.
--Contact Josh McCann: 704-789-9152
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