Turning Point

Working to help better people has made me realize that you must “pay if forward”. This I believe is what made me change from just working to earn a check to working to help others better themselves.

This concept was not easy at the beginning; let’s face it everyone wants to earn more money. I found myself struggling at the beginning when I first took a 7 thousand dollar pay cut to work for my current employer.

During the beginning of my tenure with Goodwill I found myself driving the business instead of promoting the Goodwill Mission. The Goodwill Mission provides training, employment and supportive services for people with disabilities or disadvantages who seek greater independence.

I knew that if I controlled what was in my control, that I would make the bottom line and achieve my monthly incentives. This practice proved to be beneficial, I made the majority of my incentives; but this left me feeling like I did at all of my other jobs. I felt like had was only working for a check, and not a purpose.

I knew that I would have to change my approach if I wanted to feel any self worth, and if I wanted to pay if forward.

From that moment, I found myself on a personal quest to better as many people as I could and to promote the Goodwill Mission. I knew that in order to accomplish this I would have to volunteer my time, develop my direct reports, and participate in the local communities to grow awareness about Goodwill.

The first thing I did was to start volunteering my time. One of the first events I remember doing was the “Rock the Green” in Milwaukee. This fest was all about reducing, reusing and recycling. I had volunteered my time to work in our company’s tent folding and selling recycled T-Shirts. While at the festival, I had the opportunity to bring awareness to what Goodwill did within their communities.

The second thing I started to do to pay if forward was to start developing my direct reports. During my visits to stores, I would spend time sharing as much as possible with them about what Goodwill truly did. I would give them the knowledge they would need to promote Goodwill on a more intimate level in not only their own buildings, but also in their local communities.

The third thing I did to pay if forward was to get involved myself in the local communities. I found that by doing this, it accomplished more than I had expected. After attending a couple of chamber events, I approached the local chamber and expressed my interest in becoming a member. The chamber was very interested and after a couple interviews, I was elected to the Montgomery Chamber as a board member. This opportunity allowed me to grow the awareness of Goodwill within the Montgomery community which in turned helped grow the Montgomery Goodwill, allowing them to put more into the Goodwill Mission.

It has been six years that I have worked for Goodwill. Looking back at what I have been able to accomplish by paying it forward has allowed me to not only grow within this company, but more importantly has allowed me to help countless other people within our organization; and also within the communities we serve. The amount of people that I personally have helped has outweighed the pay cut I initially took when I came aboard with Goodwill, and has allowed me to grow as a person.