Goodwill of Greater Washington Graduate Receives National Recognition!

Charles Sheet s, a data entry associate for Goodwill of Greater Washington recently received the prestigious Goodwill Industries International Edgar J. Helms Graduate Staff Award. The Graduate Staff Award is given to a former recipient of Goodwill Industries services who is presently employed by Goodwill.

The award is named in honor of the founder of Goodwill Industries, an ordained minister and social innovator who was motivated by spiritual values to improve the lives of those in need. Rev. Helms believed that unselfish service, faith and a strong work ethic should permeate Goodwill's mission, fostering self-reliance and success in others through training and employment.

This award recognizes a Goodwill Graduate Staff who exemplifies the mission of Goodwill Industries and Rev. Helms' values, while maintaining or increasing his or her own self-respect and self-reliance.

You can read more about Charlie Sheets and his success story here.

	Take Our Survey on Donation Bins in Your Community
	Goodwill Completes its First Hospitality Training Program
	The Fashion of Goodwill - 2nd Annual Runway Show & Gala
	Safeway Shop & Care Program Ends on March 31st
	It's Time for Some Spring Cleaning
	Join Goodwill at the Cherry Blossom Festival
	Join Goodwill at the taste of Arlington
	Dr. Kern's Mental Health Tips: Conflict Resolution

Dear Supporter,

It's March Madness! And it is time to quote Alan Merten, the President of George Mason University…

“Coach Jim Larranaga continues to urge his players to develop ‘habits of excellence'. This is exactly what we have been striving to do in all areas of the university.”

During 2006 and the “Year of Excellence” here at Goodwill of Greater Washington, we also continue to urge our “players”, all of those employees at Goodwill, to develop our "habits of excellence". We recently learned from one of our vendors an invaluable lesson… that “excellence” is NOT an act… it IS a habit. As we continue to create the habit of excellence in our operation and in the execution of our mission of training, educating and placing people who are disadvantaged or disabled, we invite each of you to become a part of our team…give your time, your energy and your financial resources to the players who celebrate March Madness all year long… the Goodwill of Greater Washington team!

Catherine Meloy
President & CEO



	Goodwill of Greater Washington Completes Its First Hospitality Training Program! On Friday, March 17th, Goodwill of Greater Washington completed its first HOST training program which provides disadvantaged and disabled members of our community with the skills they need to secure employment in the hospitality industry. Graduates are prepared to work as front desk representatives, reservationists, guest service representatives, PBX operators, and in room division positions. The inaugural program was launched at Goodwill's Arlington Career Campus on South Glebe Road in Arlington, VA and will replicated at some of Goodwill's other career campuses.

The Fashion of Goodwill is an entertaining and unique celebration of the mission of Goodwill of Greater Washington through a classic presentation of one of Goodwill's most high profile lines of business: Clothing and fashion!

The evening will once again feature a fast paced and distinctive runway show, highlighting the quality apparel available at Goodwill Retail Stores. In addition to this exclusive program, the evening will be filled with live music and.. Learn more!

Safeway Shop & Care Program Ends on March 31st

Safeway has generously offered to include Goodwill of Greater Washington as one of the local beneficiaries of its new charitable shopping incentive program, appropriately called Shop & Care. The program has been created to help support local nonprofit organizations, like Goodwill, in the communities they serve... more

	Syracuse University Alumni Visits Goodwill On Friday March 24th, alumni from Syracuse University visited our training center and retail store located off of Glebe Road in Arlington, VA to learn more about our mission and the new programs we offer. The training center was decorated in authentic Goodwill style and Sherman and his staff hung balloons and decorated the mannequins in Syracuse's colors – orange and blue!

	It's Time For Some Spring Cleaning!! Spring is here and that means time for Spring Cleaning!! If you're cleaning out your closets, please donate your gently used goods to Goodwill of Greater Washington. Visit this page for a list of our 8 convenient donation sites and hours of operation.

Cherry Blossom Festival

Goodwill of Greater Washington is proud to once again provide the cleaning services for this year's 45th Annual Sakura Matsuri Festival on Saturday April 8 th from 11AM – 6PM (rain or shine). Don't forget to check out our booth where we will be handing out information on our programs and playing fun, interactive games for kids of all ages. We will also be selling some of our quality merchandise at our booth… so make sure to stop by! Proceeds generated from the sales will help fund our mission of providing job training and placement for the disadvantaged and disabled!

Taste of Arlington

Goodwill of Greater Washington is proud to provide the cleaning services for this year's 19th Annual Taste of Arlington event on Saturday May 21st from Noon – 5 PM. Come check out our booth where we will be holding an amazing silent auction with unique items from our stores! Proceeds from the silent auction will go towards helping fulfill our mission of providing job training and placement for the disadvantaged and disabled.

If you are interested in volunteering at this event, please contact Nelissa Okamoto at NelissaO@DCGoodwill.org or call her at 202-715-2625.

Conflict Resolution

Approach conflict resolution with a spirit of cooperation and the intent of reaching a common goal.

Remain calm, instead of immediately reacting to your anger.

Select a quiet place to discuss anger and allow ample time to address the problem... Read more

Goodwill of Greater Washington would like to recognize its Employees of the Month for February. This award is given to the Goodwill retail, contracts, or production division employee who has demonstrated his or her ability to provide the best in customer care and dedication to the Goodwill mission.

Goodwill of Greater Washington's Employees of the month for February 2006 are:

Production - Joseph Gardner
Contracts - Carol Williams
Retail - Natasha Cross
Transportation - Michelle Thomas

GOODWILL OF GREATER WASHINGTON'S MISSION

Goodwill of Greater Washington's mission is to educate, train, employ and place people with disadvantages and disabilities, creating a stronger workforce and a more vital community while building dignity for the people we serve through the removal of barriers to personal success.