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Our main office is located at 400 East Church Street in Frederick, Maryland.
301-662-0622
View Our 2010 Annual Report
OUR BRAIN INJURY PROGRAM
Goodwill® Industries of Monocacy Valley...
Provides individualized vocational/cognitive services that support job placements in the community.
Teaches cutting edge techniques that will assist participants in their efforts to return to work; find a job; and assist with daily living.
Keeps the class size small, consisting of no more than 8 participants, which promotes individualized strategies.
Goodwill®’s 20-week program, designed and delivered by professional staff and counselors working under the supervision of a psychologist, is available at no cost for residents in both Frederick and Carroll Counties and offers vocational and cognitive training to improve quality of life, functioning in families and relationships, as well as learning new skills to re-enter the work force.
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WE CHANGE LIVES
Former FDA career officer “Glenn” knows what the effects of acquired brain injury are – as a survivor of a car accident that left him incapacitated in July 2007, Glenn credits the support of his wife for helping him get to this point – he’s thinking of what to do in this next phase of his life. He also credits the input and support of Goodwill’s ABI Coordinator, who herself has experienced brain trauma and can relate to her students more effectively by sharing her experiences.
Doctoral candidate Shelley Lebel, who provides the supervised clinical services for the program says, “I’ve seen exceptional growth in our clients – it’s very rewarding.” “There’s always room for improvement. No matter your goal, with a little help, you can stay focused and accomplish (your goals).”
When you're retired from the computer industry, and can spend your "free" time with recreational pursuits and family, why do volunteer work that may be challenging, frustrating, and offer no monetary remuneration? One of the youth mentors puts it this way, the satisfaction comes from watching the growth in your mentee -- from introvert to fun-loving preteen with a passion for sports and now, for learning. Our GoodGuides Youth Mentoring Initiative is designed to match adult mentors with at-risk youth ages 12 to 17 for career exploration and opportunities. In addition to one-on-one mentoring, the program also offers group mentoring as well as peer mentoring -- matching up teens with other teens to develop constructive social skills. Why not consider mentoring a youth?
A fashion show complete with loud, thumping music, camera flashes and dozens of models working the catwalk overtook the top floor of The Temple: A Paul Mitchell Partner School in downtown Frederick on a cool November Saturday night. I even joined the modeling group with fashions from Goodwill. As Heather Brennan, admissions leader for the school, explained before the show, the ensembles being presented weren't the expensive creations of a high-end fashion designer. Each outfit strutted down the runway by students and community volunteers cost around $10 and could be found at Goodwill®’s retail store. Proceeds from the show supported our SNAP outreach program.
“Eddy” graduated from Linganore High School with few prospects for employment aside from helping in the family real estate business and doing some lawn care. He was then referred to Goodwill® and participated in our Steps to Success program. Eddy’s real interest was to work with animals; however his difficulty with organization, maintaining attention, beginning and completing tasks and low cognitive functioning moved us to work with him to identify the skills he did have and new employment opportunities in other fields. While we were working with Eddy, Costco was building a depot distribution center not too far from where Eddy lived. We did mock interviews with Eddy and we helped him research Costco so that he was ready for the interview. With this partnership, Eddy completed his 90-day probation and is still going strong.
We had a very successful year in raising funds for the SNAP program. And because of that success, matching dollar for dollar the funds that the state provided, we were able to help nearly two hundred people register for food stamps and receive information on nutritional foods.
The Model, Flagship Store is now open in Eldersburg. After nine months of designing and building a new structure to meet the operational and educational needs of Goodwill®, our latest retail outlet was opened on December 7th. The grand opening occurred ten days later on a cold and blustery Friday morning. The Grand Opening was a huge success as the community welcomed us with donated goods and shopping customers. Thanks to all who supported Goodwill®
A new year and some new board members. Joining the Goodwil®l Board of Directors are Peter Baxter, Branch Manager with Supreme Lending, Donna Culotta-Kehler owner of Mid Atlantic Property Services, Pat Dobzinski Interior Designer with The Fisher Group, and Cheryl Knight Assistant Manager with New Windsor Bank.
Youth Mentoring, Acquired Brain Injury and Development Disability Community Employment are only three programs among the dozen programs that we will be offering during 2011. As we continue to add and improve our programs we rely on the generous public to donate clothing and household items and shop in our stores to financially support these initiatives.
Thank you for your support.
Dan Kurtenbach, President/CEO