When offered the position of Project Coordination Lead (PCL), I told Mikayla, my roommate and fellow fellow, that I was apprehensive about leading my peers. Little did I know that this opportunity was not only a very important experience, but also one that improved my happiness and appreciation for my job.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit is currently my host company, where I work four days a week, Monday through Thursday, in the marketing department. I have been blessed with informative and supportive colleagues and an amazing boss, Jim, who has made it his personal goal for Goodwill Industries to be the best host company that Challenge Detroit has ever seen.

However, first, I want to make sure you have a clear understanding of what my company does and of its incredible mission of putting people with employment challenges to work. And, let me just start by adding that we are more than just thrift stores and donated goods. In fact, we are a competitive Tier-1 supplier to the Big Three, which largely employs many of the people we aim to serve, we clean the streets of Detroit through the Downtown Detroit Partnership’s Clean Downtown initiative, and we have a 70+ year relationship with DTE Energy in recycling metal and mineral oil in our Green Works company; only a few of the many things Goodwill does in the city of Detroit. We are not only an impressive non-profit, but we are also an impressive non-profit that largely sustains our own mission through our own companies, sans donations and grants (although we are extremely grateful for any donations and grants we receive!). And, speaking of donations, for every dollar donated to Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit, you can expect 92 cents will return to sustaining our mission. Fascinating, to say the least.

Nevertheless, in addition to all the great services and companies we offer and have in Detroit, we have an array of programs that serve, train, and employ employment-challenged individuals, including but not limited to: veterans, developmentally disabled individuals, persons struggling with mental illness, and ex-offenders coming from the Michigan Department of Corrections. Two such programs are the Skill Building Program and A Place of Our Own Clubhouse, which serve the developmentally disabled and the mentally ill, respectively, and were represented in our third challenge regarding workforce development. This brings me to my role as PCL.  

Even as an employee of the marketing team at Goodwill, I unfortunately have limited interactions with these fantastic companies and programs that operate under the Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit umbrella. So, as I act as a liaison between the Challenge Detroit fellows and the directors of A Place of Our Own Clubhouse and the Skill Building Program in my PCL role, I have gained a lot more insight of, and engagement with, Goodwill’s mission, which I am forever grateful. I am learning along with the fellows about my own company, and I have genuinely enjoyed hearing about the many experiences they have had within the company I hold in such high regard.
Overall, as a PCL working in coordination with my company, I have made more connections with people and leaders within my company, I have witnessed the good work we do, and I have seen the incredible need for more companies such as Goodwill within the city Detroit. All of which have changed my work life for the better.