Teresa Sunday is now working as a Handler at Lucky Dog Bark & Brew and putting her training skills she learned at Goodwill to good use.
“In my current role I get to play with dogs,” Teresa excitedly shared.
The Goodwill University graduate is happy in her new role but was once relying on family to take care of her before finding work through Goodwill.
“I stumbled upon it by accident,” Teresa explained when speaking of the first time she discovered Goodwill’s tuition-free programs and services back in 2018. “I was looking to apply for a job at Goodwill, and I typed ‘Goodwill’ [into the search engine] and it popped up ‘Goodwill University.'”
It was then that Teresa took her first of many courses through Goodwill University, Goodwill’s job training division. After completion, she began working at Amazon, but was unfortunately included in a round of layoffs by the corporation in 2022. That’s when she returned to Goodwill. This time around, she explored different options.
“I was originally thinking of going into data entry, so I took the Microsoft Essentials course, and I also did the Leap the Confidence course,” she said.
The Leap to Confidence course provides women the tools, skills and support systems they need to believe in their own worth so they can live their best lives. For Teresa, the course couldn’t have come at a better time, helping to boost her confidence and relieve stress.
“I was able to relieve some of my anxiety in there and I still use some of the techniques,” she said.
Another stress relief for Teresa was her Career Navigator, Okemia Porch. Goodwill provides wraparound services to all participants to ensure they not only receive the best training, but also assistance with mock interviews, resume preparation and help landing the job.
“It helps because then they have enough time for everybody, and they have time to work with you,” she said. “Okemia is an awesome career coach and one of the best to work with,” she added.
Today, Teresa is enjoying her role as a Handler and looking forward to the upcoming opportunities her employer will offer.
“I’ll be able to use my customer service and computer skills, because they eventually want to have everybody trained in every part,” she explained. This will allow Teresa to do some of the bookkeeping and get more data entry experience.
Courses like the ones Teresa took are available free of charge thanks to donations and shopping at Goodwill’s retail stores, as well as from community and corporate donors.
If you or someone you know wants to donate to Goodwill to help support the nonprofit’s mission of building pathways that help people pursue the life they want to achieve, click here.
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