18 Nov 40 Kids and One Big Field Trip

Niketa Hailey-Hill, Marketing Manager

Last Thursday, a big yellow school bus rolled up to our headquarters filled with 40 students and two teachers who ventured into Nashville from
Murfreesboro eager to learn more about Goodwill. (I have to admit I was a little nervous – I had given tours to many visitors over the years, but I
wasn’t sure how I was going to do with a small army of nine-year-olds!)

I watched the students jump off the bus and line up into single-file lines. To my surprise, each one of them brought something to donate. So naturally
and fittingly, this is where our tour began.

My co-worker, Suzanne Kay-Pittman, and I led the group through each area in our processing plant, showing them the life cycle of their donations, from
the dock where donation trucks come in, to sorting, grading, sizing, tagging, organizing and finally to the shipping dock where the store orders
go out. They were amazed at how big the operation was and how many people (jobs) were involved.

During the tour the students met our A-team which is comprised of some very special Goodwill employees who have various disabilities.  Case manager
Jonathan Kelsey and supervisor Kirk Johnson talked with the students about people with disabilities, the issues they face, and most importantly focused
on what they CAN do opposed to what they can’t.  (As you’ll see below – this was a popular part of the tour.)

And so we ended the tour at our Career Solutions center across the street, where the students saw the essence of our mission – helping people with
employment and training. As we visited the classrooms, computer labs and life skills room, I could see they really got it! They understood the things
they no longer needed or wanted helped people learn computer skills, resume-building, interview and basic job-searching skills which ultimately
helps people get a job.

Forty students left that day with a better understanding of Goodwill’s mission, and I was reminded how fun, compassionate and smart nine-year-olds can be. What was I so nervous about?  After all, the model is quite simple, it’s the impact that is so great!

Monday morning I came into work to find this stack of homemade thank you cards from the students below.  How could my week have started any better? And, how wonderful to be reminded that a child’s perspective isn’t so different than mine.

View their artwork!

If you would like to schedule a tour of Goodwill, please contact us.