Goodwill continues to serve the community during pandemic
Feb. 27—ASHTABULA — Goodwill's presence in the Ashtabula Harbor dates back to 1899, said Goodwill Northeast Ohio and Northwest Pennsylvania Chief Executive Officer Phillip Johnston.
He said it was started as a church mission and in the 1920s became an official Goodwill operation. The organization continues to offer jobs and training for Ashtabula County residents.
Johnston leads the organization that employs more than 125 people in Ashtabula, Madison and Erie. Goodwill is a non-profit organization governed locally independent of other Goodwill organizations.
A recent change in the day-to-day operation includes a raise from $8.50 an hour to $11.50 an hour, Johnston said. He said Goodwill is also trying to provide more full-time jobs instead of the part-time positions that were often the employment structure at the store.
"We are trying to have more full-time individuals," he said.
While the full-time employment is a new focus, the idea is still to provide opportunities for advancement within the community.
"A great day for us is when any employee gets a better job. Job creation is what Goodwill is about," Johnston said.
Donations taken to Goodwill are sorted and eventually end up on shelves of the newly renovated Ashtabula store, Johnston said. He said almost every part of every donation is either sold or recycled.
The last year has been a challenge for Goodwill stores as they deal with COVID-19 issues, but some positive things have happened during the last year, Johnston said. He said traffic has dropped at the store, but sales have increased.
"[Traffic] is down 10 to 20 percent, but sales increased 25 to 45 percent," Johnston said. He said the organization is trying to get a higher quality product on the shelves.
Johnston said employees are receiving more training.
"We have to justify that higher wage," he said.
"The idea is that we hire as many people as we can," Johnston said. He said some employees have started sorting donations and ended up as store managers.
There are employees who have been with Ashtabula Goodwill for decades. Regina Stringham sorts clothes and has been on the job for 35 years.
A Goodwill hiring day is being held March 5, 6 at the Goodwill office in the Harbor.
"They will be interviewing on the spot and maybe hired the same day," Johnston said.
More information regarding the event will be available at goodwillhiringdays.org.
