Tonya
“I can’t even think of my life without Goodwill,” says Tonya.
“My job at the Cookeville store keeps me going every day. My goal is to make Goodwill my career.”
A new career was the last thing on Tonya’s mind when she met with Career Solutions counselor Jane Byers in early 2009. All she wanted was a job. A back injury had forced her to leave her career as a hairdresser. Her son was then four years old. She was jobless and homeless for two years, and the pair survived thanks to the generosity of friends who offered food and a couch at night.
Then Tonya’s fortune changed with a simple glance as she drove by the Cookeville store and saw the sign for Career Solutions. It was the start of her transition from homeless to self-supporting. She met with Jane for help finding a job. That meeting led to work as a grader in the store’s processing plant. “Tonya could only work part time due to her injury and met all the criteria for what Goodwill was looking for in an employee,” says Jane. Jane also says, “I saw something in Tonya, and I knew she needed a break.”
Tonya started a situational assessment, similar to supervised on-the-job-training, as a grader. Within four weeks she was hired. Tonya has since moved from grader to tagger in the plant, and is now doing what she says is her calling. She’s a cashier, working with customers again, much as she did when she was a hairdresser. Her transition is complete.
“Not having a job was stressful. I’m so grateful that Jane gave me a chance,” says Tonya. She adds, “When I come into the store, it’s not work. It’s like I’m with my second family. And this family has given me back my life. I can pay my bills and I have a home for me and my son. I’m blessed and humbled by all that Goodwill has done for me.”
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