When Kelly Phillips entered the Goodwill Career Solutions Center in Hendersonville in December 2023, she broke down in tears. “I got laid off from my previous job, had been applying to more than 200 jobs and was desperate,” Kelly says. “The career coach I spoke...
Davidson County residents age 16-19 have a unique opportunity to gain work experience and skills relevant to their interests in a supportive environment — all while earning a paycheck. Applications are now being accepted for high school internships through the POWER Youth Employment Initiative, funded...
Eva Franklin stays so busy helping others, she sometimes fails to consider her own needs. That was the case in April of 2021, when she walked into Goodwill’s Career Solutions Center in Nashville. Over two decades, Eva served as a foster parent to more than 200...
A Goodwill program that prepares promising employees for career advancement did even more for one recent participant — it inspired her to go to college. Mandie Underwood always thought she wanted to be a nurse. But Mandie quit high school in her senior year. Though she...
When Kara Isreal was 16, she glimpsed an exciting future for herself in the technology industry. As part of a women’s networking program, the teen from South Central Los Angeles spent a day with a marketing manager from Accenture, a global business management consulting firm specializing...
Erica King describes her job duties in a way some people might find surprising. She says she “gets” to sort donated clothes and she “gets” to put them on hangers. The 31-year-old Goodwill retail associate talks about other parts of her life with the same...
Sylvester Groves drove tanks as a sergeant in the U.S. Army, but he faced his toughest battle as a civilian during the Great Recession. After a decade in the military, the Nashville-area native worked private-sector jobs, including one as the manager of a cleaning company....
Herman Barnes knows the value of a second chance. Every day, as a donation attendant at Goodwill’s South Jackson retail store, Mr. Barnes receives items people no longer need, processes them for sale and sees customers purchase them to give them new purpose....
Jennifer Hicks is a 31-year-old nurse practitioner who specializes in helping people with drug addiction. She is married to Jordan Hicks, and they have two children — Lucy, 2, and Joaquin, 4 months. Originally from Ontario, Ore., Jennifer moved to Nashville in 2013, earning her...
When he retired from a 23-year career with the U.S. Army, former ammunition tech Roy Loudermilk thought office work sounded appealing. But after a few months, Roy’s interest in his job with an electronics company began to fizzle. ...
A grant from home improvement retailer Lowe’s is helping Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee to equip people more effectively with the skills needed for rewarding careers in the construction industry. ...
It was a Friday, and for 13-year-old Joshua West, that meant shopping with his dad at the Shelbyville Goodwill and talking with Ms. Vivian. ...
To those who first saw it on social media, the pink-hued, high-backed sectional on sale for $50 at a Nashville Goodwill store looked like a bargain ripe for the picking. But to “lifelong Goodwiller” Stephanie Bowman, it looked like the end to a years-long quest. ...
In a way, Precious Davis and her mother began life at the same time. Prior to her fifth child’s arrival, Shirley Davis’ life had been mostly about addiction. At 40, she had never worked a job. She had never really been a parent — her...
Nashville artist Thomas H. Sturgill never earned a black belt in karate. In fact, his entire karate career consisted of a few lessons he took while in the fourth grade. Nonetheless, Thomas, now 40, owns many belts — white, yellow, green and other colors — signifying...
