Tacoma Goodwill Announces New Work Opportunity Center

I was sent the following press release today. I used to work for Tacoma Goodwill so I can state with conviction that the organization is doing great things in the Tacoma area. Not only does Tacoma Goodwill help individuals in Tacoma it helps individuals in every community it has a retail location in. Currently Tacoma Goodwill operates 20 stores in Western and Central Washington.

Another point of importance is the new building will be LEED Silver certified. This is excellent news as it shows that Tacoma Goodwill is taking seriously their responsibility to manage the resources that they manage.

Text of Press Release is below.

Tacoma Goodwill Industries

714 S. 27^th St.

Tacoma, WA 98409

T  253.272.5166

F  253.627.1248

www.tacomagoodwill.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ¾ Nov. 27, 2007

Gregoire unveils plans for new Tacoma Goodwill building

Governor to join partners for event highlighting Work Opportunity Center

      TACOMA – Gov. Chris Gregoire will unveil site plans and design drawings Dec. 5 for a new Work Opportunity Center, an estimated $20 million facility that Tacoma Goodwill will build on its Hilltop neighborhood campus starting next year.

      The event will start at 10:30 a.m. at Goodwill’s Workforce Development Center, 714 S. 27^th St., Tacoma. The event will include Goodwill program participants, officials with the nonprofit agency, Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma, and representatives of partnering agencies.

      “We’ve made our current building work for more than 40 years,” said Terry A. Hayes, Tacoma Goodwill CEO. “The challenge now is to significantly expand our ability to provide job training services to the growing number of people with disabilities and disadvantages who need our help going to work.”

      Goodwill moved into its current location in 1965, then training 518 clients –placing 52 in jobs – while managing three stores. In 2007, Goodwill served 3,947 clients, found jobs for 1,011, and operates 20 stores.

Supporting initiative
      Late last year, Tacoma Goodwill Board officers unanimously approved an initiative to triple services in Pierce County, to 6,000 people in the next five years. The initiative was based on a 2005 University of Washington Tacoma Milgard School of Business study on Pierce County employment that estimated the population who could need Goodwill’s job-placement and training services will reach 70,000 by 2010.

      “The initiative represents a significant investment for the benefit of the whole community,” said Jim Walton, former Tacoma City Manager and 2007 Goodwill Board president. “Goodwill’s expansion of services will provide education, employment and training clearly needed for the many vulnerable populations in our area.”

      Money raised for the project will come from a combination of public and private dollars and Goodwill’s own funds. A fundraising goal will be announced next year. Because Goodwill is a unique, self-supporting nonprofit, the agency will pay for ongoing operational costs.

About the building
      The Work Opportunity Center will be located at the southeast corner of South 27^th Street and Tacoma Avenue and built with environmentally conscious materials; glass to invite daylight and brick-and-metal construction to compliment neighboring buildings. As a community asset, it will feature four levels of expanded space for needed job-placement and training programs, technological advancements and administration.

      A centerpiece of the 63,000-square-foot building will be a Youth Career Development Center at ground level. Young adults will be greeted with a vibrant “Job Fair” atmosphere featuring 10 youth career and counseling service agencies from across the area.

      Technological advancements in the new building will include a distance learning center with the ability to broadcast meetings. An adaptive technology lab will teach people with disabilities computer skills and will be more than two times larger than current facilities

      Board and classrooms will provide needed meeting space for area organizations. A job resource room and cafeteria will be open to the public. Public art will be featured throughout.

      The building will also be LEED Silver certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. A Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for “green” building construction emphasizes Goodwill’s efforts as a stewardship of our resources.

      BCRA of Tacoma is the architect for the facility. Rushforth Taylor Construction is the contractor. Plans call for work to begin in 2008 with an opening in 2009.

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Tacoma Goodwill
Goodwill is a unique nonprofit business. It turns donations and business revenue into programs that change lives by helping people with disabilities or disadvantages go to work. This year, Tacoma Goodwill Industries will help more than 4,200 people with education, job training and placement so they can become independent self-supporting citizens. Of these, 1,000 people with barriers to employment will be placed in jobs in the community. Job-training services are funded through financial gifts, grants, fees, commercial services and the operation of 20 thrift stores throughout Western and Southcentral Washington. Please visit our Web site at www.tacomagoodwill.org.