Success Stories
Cindy Woytsek
Working at Goodwill since February 2008, Cindy Woytsek enjoyed the day-to-day challenges of her job as a store team leader and working for a good cause.
After encouragement from her management team, Cindy enrolled and successfully completed Goodwill’s Getting Ahead, a program to help employees build the necessary resources for them to create stable, secure lives for themselves and their families.
“Personally, the class has given me new hope. I kind of knew I was in poverty. I really didn’t know what my purpose was,” she says. “You kind of get in a comfort zone. I’m just getting by. I’m not getting ahead. All I was lacking – as I learned – were the resources.”
Cindy now knows her purpose. Already equipped with an associate’s degree in electronics from Ivy Tech Community College and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Indiana Wesleyan University, she plans within two years to open her own business selling collectibles, antiques and dolls. Her goals include starting out in flea markets and on the internet and then possibly moving into a storefront.
At Goodwill, Cindy has been able to move from a store team leader to a position with Goodwill’s clickgoodwill.com operation, where she works as a team leader in the shipping department. There, she gains valuable experience for her business. Moving to the online operation also made it easier for Cindy to work with a knee brace, which had been difficult in a store environment. In addition, she can build her retirement savings account and relationships in the community before relying on her own business for income.
Cheryl (Abney) Hartley
Cheryl (Abney) Hartley’s motto at age 20 in 1975: “I can do it if you can.” More than 30 years later, Cheryl shines with the same determination, but she’s rewritten her motto to inspire others: “If I can do it, you can.”
Born without arms, Cheryl’s feet work with the same dexterity as most people’s hands. She can use a pen, type and do household chores. She drives (using no special equipment) by accelerating and braking with her right foot and steering with her left.
When she first came to Goodwill in 1973, Cheryl was shy and withdrawn. She had dropped out of school because other students were insensitive to her disability. With Goodwill’s help, Cheryl earned her high school equivalency diploma, gained self-confidence and learned office skills. She soon found a job and over the years, has worked in the clerical field, as a stay-at-home mother, in customer service, and now is pursuing motivational speaking .
Cheryl’s personal life also has been successful. She and husband Rick have been married since 1980, and her eyes light up when she talks about their grown son, Nicholas.
Looking back, Cheryl says what she learned at Goodwill undeniably set her life on a new course.
“If it wasn’t for me coming to Goodwill, I wouldn’t be where I am now,” she said. “It was a big turning point.”
Lorena Salas
Living away from her family at the Indiana School for the Blind, totally blind and reliant on a walker, people might have understood if Lorena Salas had fallen into self-pity, but she never even considered it.
Once out of school, Lorena became dissatisfied with her first job experience in a workshop for the blind and turned to Goodwill in 1999 for something more fulfilling.
Lorena’s job coach helped her find and train for a position at a Goodwill retail store. The manager and staff were more than willing to make accommodations that matched her abilities. They soon were rewarded her enthusiasm, dedication and – unexpectedly – her bilingual skills. Because of the large number of Spanish-speaking customers at her store, Lorena has become the store’s interpreter of English and Spanish, two languages which she says are “both my first language.”
Originally charged by her manager and job coach with the goal of hanging three racks of clothes each day, Lorena now hangs nearly five racks each day, despite the weakness in her hands and low dexterity brought about by her cerebral palsy.
“I’m one of those people who likes to be active. I didn’t want to bored,” says Salas, who works at the store 20 hours per week. “Goodwill has wonderful job coaches. They help you find a job and train you to do it well.”
Lorena left her group home a few years ago and now lives in an assisted-care apartment. Her abilities have not only made her a key member of the store’s team but are a reminder that conditions such as blindness and cerebral palsy do not prevent a person from leading a productive, fulfilling life.
Lorena’s exuberant personality and positive attitude are apparent from the moment a person meets her.
“I love this store. The people are friendly and marvelous and helpful,” she says. “If they see I’m running out of clothes or hangers, they replace them. Everybody here works together as a team.”