Success Stories
Jamilah Abdulaziz
For GW Commercial Services team leader Jamilah Abdulaziz, cleaning at a federal contract site is more than just a job. It’s a passion.
“I love my job,” she says. “Even when I’m off, I talk about my job. Goodwill just is a good place to be.”
Jamilah came to GW Commercial Services, an AbilityOne Authorized Provider, seven months ago through the help of a job coach. She had been unemployed for three years, staying home to take care of her grandchildren. “I wanted to change all of it. I got tired of waiting on a (disability) check every month,” she says.
The job that Jamilah now loves started part-time and was a learning experience in endurance. Cleaning a large federal building requires walking, bending, stooping and constant physical labor. At the time Jamilah started, she was 75 pounds heavier, and the job was physically challenging.
“When I first started, it was kind of stressful. My body hurt a lot,” she says.
But Jamilah, who utilized the medical insurance that came with employment, worked with doctors to receive treatment for her knees and ankles and soon was employed full-time. She enjoyed her job, and her work ethic, determination, aptitude and self-confidence helped Jamilah advance quickly. She saw an opportunity available for team leader and was determined to advance. She asked her supervisor not once, but twice, for an opportunity to try out for the position. Soon, she was given a 2-week trial period that led to her promotion to team leader, a first in GW Commercial Services.
GW Commercial Service’s promotional program, called Steps to Success, has six levels of achievement and tests an employee’s competency in janitorial tasks and soft skills that include an employee’s knowledge of Goodwill values and leadership. Generally, supervisors say that most employees can advance about one level a year. Jamilah is the first person ever to advance directly from the first level, which is an entry-level position, to the sixth level, which is team leader, in less than a year.
“She knows what the customer expects and what’s required of us. She proved herself, not only in competency of janitorial tasks but the way she is with her team and the way she makes them feel,” said Breeanna Bongayan, employee resource and development specialist for GW Commercial Services. “It’s not that she settles because she pushes her team. But she knows their potential, and she does it in a way that’s nurturing. It makes the work environment so lovely.”
Jamilah, who has bipolar disorder, says her determination and drive to succeed come from the strength she has gained from facing adversity in life.
“I had no self-esteem years ago. And I have built my self-esteem back up to be the person I am. When somebody gives you a chance in life, you’re able to do what you really want to do and succeed,” she says.
“God’s the one who woke me up for what I’ve been through,” she adds. “I was in a wheelchair back in 2007. I was living with my dad. My dad kicked me out, and I had nowhere to go. I wound up in a shelter, and I was crying – boo hoo – and feeling sorry for myself. I was very suicidal, and I was in and out of the hospital. And one day, I stopped complaining and started thanking God more for everything, and things started changing. I got my apartment that I didn’t have. At the apartment, they had furniture in the basement that other people had left. You know, God will bless you if you stop complaining. Allow Him to bless you, and watch what happens.”
Jamilah now is reconciled with her father and describes herself as energetic and happy all the time. She’s set her sights on a new goal – achieving her high school diploma at Goodwill’s Excel Center, a public high school for adults. And she knows that her life has changed permanently.
“I feel on top of the world. For once in my life, somebody gave me a chance to prove myself, who I am, what I’m capable of doing, and it feels good to actually have people listen to me,” she says. “I’m proud of myself; I’m proud of my team members; I’m proud of my job; I’m proud of what I do. I’m proud of getting up every morning to be responsible.”
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videoMuhammad Maaita
Muhammad Maaita, field technician for Goodwill Technology Solutions (information technology), describes his journey the past 2½ years as “a big wow.”
“It started when I decided to move to the States, and before, I had my job back home. I was living my life,” said the native of Jordan. “In late 2008, I was approved to move to the United States and become a permanent resident.”
Muhammad said work experience, advanced educational opportunities, and family influenced his decision. He left behind an information technology job at an international company, family, friends, and familiarity and arrived in Indianapolis in January 2009 to move in with family members already here.
“I’m looking for a job – second day, second morning. The first thing I go for is online application, and I’m just submitting applications anywhere. I need someone to talk to. Of course, that was one of the barriers, which is the language. At the very beginning, it was too hard to communicate that, ‘I can do this, but I don’t know the meaning of that word,’ ” says Muhammad, who spoke English but had a limited vocabulary when he arrived.
Muhammad’s job search took 7 months.
“It was the time where the economic crisis had hit the top. Everyone was worried. Imagine me thinking, ‘What am I going to do? What did I do to myself? I lost – I gave away – a very nice job at an international company.’ ”
But, as Muhammad describes his journey, “Everything comes just in time. There’s a blessing somewhere, right?”
His brother, a former Goodwill employee, thought he should apply at a store. “Literally, he grabbed my hand, put me in his car, drove me to the Keystone Store.”
Muhammad was hired as a store cashier a week later. From day one, he planned to advance. “I’m working, keeping my job, saying, ‘I love what I do right now, and I’m doing my best, but that’s not what I’m planning to keep doing.’ ”
Meanwhile, Muhammad’s family, which owns a restaurant and a trucking business, routinely offered him jobs. But Muhammad stuck with his dream to get back into the information technology field.
“I didn’t want to walk the same path (as my family),” he says. “I needed to go back to, ‘Why did you decide to move to the States? To better myself, to better my skills, to better my education.’ ”
After he was hired at Goodwill, Muhammad persistently reminded his manager that he could do more. They worked on a development plan, and he was eventually promoted to team leader. He also took a Goodwill class where individuals learn to find community resources and set personal and financial goals. Through the class, Muhammad met Goodwill staff who connected him with his current job, providing information technology support for Goodwill’s stores, and he transferred in September 2010.
Muhammad now has his own apartment and is excited about his future. “I have a good job, a career. Sometimes when I think about it, I don’t believe it.”
“That’s Goodwill’s whole mission – working together to help people find jobs – find life. I wouldn’t have a life here without a job.”
Rebekah Blane
Rebekah Blane has benefited from Goodwill’s flexibility and commitment. After being only the second person in her family to graduate from high school, Rebekah had a promising future ahead of her. But when her mother was diagnosed with a mental illness, Rebekah stayed at home to care for her. Even with her caregiving responsibilities, she managed to enroll at Indiana Business College and earn an associate’s degree. But when her mother passed away, everything changed.
With no support system, Rebekah struggled with the loss of her mother and became an alcoholic. She began writing bad checks, and eventually, she was arrested. Convicted of forgery, Rebekah served time and was eventually referred to Goodwill from work release.
Rebekah has made great strides since beginning her work release program. She embraces the need to do the best job she possibly can, to go that extra mile. In fact, she is the only employee in Goodwill Commercial Services who is trained on every piece of equipment and in every role on the assembly floor. When there is a need to be filled, her supervisors can count on her to do it.
Rebekah’s future became even brighter when she began the New Beginnings Program, a six-month program that requires individuals to maintain employment, attend training sessions and make progress on their goals. They work on creating support systems and building critical life skills and also build and improve computer literacy and write effective résumés.
She also has begun to pursue some of her personal dreams, like working with children at the transitional housing facility where she lives. She understands that she will have a tough road ahead to rebuild people’s trust in her. Rebekah explains, “The nature of my crimes will make it harder to get back, but I have the tenacity to go for what I want.”
Rebekah refuses to let go of her dreams. “Even though it looks rough, and it looks like you can’t make it, that you can’t move – you have to get up and keep going. Each day gets a little bit better. It gets a little bit easier – you just have to keep pushing through.”
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