(LYONS, GA) Goodwill Industries of the Coastal Empire will expand its services to Lyons, Georgia, with the opening of the Job Connections Community Career Center on Friday, April 15. The center, which will connect businesses and job seekers in Toombs and surrounding counties, will offer an array of services and classes. Business and community leaders have been invited to a VIP reception on Thursday, April 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend a grand opening celebration on Friday, April 15 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Located at 105 Moore Circle, the Job Connections Community Career Center will offer job seekers access to job leads and technology to conduct an effective job search. Job seekers will be able to take classes to refine their resumes, learn interviewing skills and develop an effective job search strategy. Businesses will be able to list their job openings and utilize the facility to conduct job interviews.
Through partnerships with other community agencies, the community center hopes to eventually offer financial literacy classes, health and wellness classes, and GED preparatory classes.
In addition to connecting people with jobs, the center will serve as home base for Goodwill’s Buena Vida initiative in Toombs County, a program that reaches out to immigrant families to assist them with their search for employment and the supportive services necessary to be successful. The Buena Vida initiative currently offers adult education and GED classes in Spanish. The program will eventually offer English as a Second Language classes, ESL Work Literacy classes, and instruction in Spanish for employers as they face a growing diverse workforce. Goodwill Community Outreach Coordinator Rey Morales will also be available to assist employers with interpreting for job interviews.
“We believe that the Job Connections Community Career Center will have a profound impact on Lyons and the surrounding areas,” says Mohsen Badran, CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Coastal Empire, Inc. “The residents of Toombs County, especially the area’s growing Spanish-speaking population, will have access to services that will improve their employment prospects and equip them with the tools necessary to thrive in their communities and beyond.”
Badran anticipates that the career center will also be a boon to business. “The local economy can benefit from well-trained and readily employable Spanish-speaking workers,” he says, noting the similar productive role such workers play in our national economy.
The Job Connections Community Career Center will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Classes at the center will meet seven days a week.
Goodwill Industries of the Coastal Empire, Inc. is dedicated to the mission of assisting people with disabilities and other barriers to employment to live independently and become employed. The not-for-profit organization currently employs more than 500 employees locally and provides services for more than 770 people. Goodwill Industries of the Coastal Empire serves 33 counties in Georgia and South Carolina and operates 12 retail locations in the region. In addition to the thrift shops, Goodwill accepts tax deductable car donations and operates an online store at shopgoodwill.com. For more information on Goodwill Industries of the Coastal Empire, please call 912-354-6611, email info@goodwillsavannahga.org or visit www.goodwillsavannahga.org.