In the News

GOODWILL CELEBRATES COMMUNITY CENTER

Goodwill Industries of Central Texas (GICT) officially opened the doors to the Goodwill Community Center (GCC) and the Goodwill Dell Computer Museum on Friday, May 20 with a Grand Opening celebration. About 300 people attended the Open House and took tours of the GCC, which showcased each department individually. Visitors also took tours through the new museum and browsed the shelves at Computer Works and the Goodwill store, which are all part of the GCC. As they left the celebration, guests received souvenir GCC coasters and fortune cookies that read, “Wishing you Goodwill and Fortune.”

After more than 30 years in an old bakery in downtown Austin, GICT now enjoys a 96,620 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility. The GCC features a conferencing center, computer labs, assistive technology and amenities for employees such as a gym and health center.

“This facility is a symbol of our mission, allowing us to serve people with barriers to employment for generations to come,” said Jerry Davis, GICT’s President and CEO.

Joe Farmer, GICT’s former board chair, said the facility is important for the Central Texas community. "The new Goodwill Community Center is a significant resource that will support the achievement of our key objective to serve over 20,000 Central Texans by the year 2020,” Farmer said. “It provides an environment for Goodwill associates and other community partners to collaboratively deliver services for the people that we serve.”

Incoming board chair, Marcus Bove, said the GCC is just the foundation of more growth for Goodwill. “As an architect, the completion of a building is usually the end of the project,” he said. “With this building and with my association with Goodwill, however, it's just the beginning…we worked hard to make it a reality.”

More than 200 individuals and companies donated to the building – either by purchasing a brick, a bench or a tree or by sponsoring a room. Two of the largest donors included Dell, Inc., and University Federal Credit Union (UFCU). Dell donated $10,000 for the naming rites of the Goodwill Dell Computer Museum and donated more than 40 computers for the Learning Lab. UFCU donated $10,000 for the Board Room.

Bove added that the best part about the new building is “watching how our staff members use it as a tool to do their jobs. It doesn't matter whether or not they know how much preparation and effort it took. All they need to know is that they have a new and powerful instrument to assist them in reaching out to people who need our help.”