Persistence And Goodwill’s Help Pay Off For Shelbyville Man

At age 2, Andrew Curtis was struck by a car and suffered a head injury that left him with physical and developmental disabilities.

When he got out of the hospital, his parents had to teach him to walk and talk again. They soon learned that Andrew is a fighter who succeeds through persistence. Andrew graduated from high school, got married and found a custodial position that lasted eight years. But after that, he struggled to find and keep employment.

He went to Goodwill Career Solutions and got training in interview skills and assistance in submitting job applications. But by early 2014, he had been unemployed for a year. He and his wife were struggling financially, and friends encouraged him to simply learn to live on his disability benefits.

Andrew prayed for God’s guidance and sent his Goodwill job coach an email to let her know he was not giving up.

“(A job) will give me a sense of self-worth,” he wrote.

“I don’t want to be bored half out of my skull.”

A few days later, Andrew learned from his job coach about an opening at Roses Department Store in Shelbyville. Even though he had applied there several times before, Andrew gave it one more shot.

“A little voice inside me was saying, Andrew, try again,” he said. “So I did.”

This time he got the job.

Andrew has now been working at Roses for nearly a year, and his supervisor is happy with his work.

“He’s always very friendly. The employees love him and the customers love him,” said store manager Jennifer Deakins.

Andrew enjoys his job, and his financial outlook has improved.

“Goodwill helped me be a more positive person,” he said.

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— By Chris Fletcher
Prior to joining Goodwill as its PR & Communications Manager in 2014, Fletcher was a professional journalist for
more than 25 years working at media outlets in three states, including the Associated Press.