Goodwill Manasota is offering virtual English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes each week for team members whose primary language is not English. The classes, which are taught by instructors provided by the Manatee Literacy Council, are provided while employees are on the clock, at no cost to them.

The Manatee County virtual ESOL classes launched on Dec. 7, 2020; participants gather—while physically distanced—at the Goodwill Cortez, Ranch Lake and Corporate Campus locations. In the upcoming weeks, team members from Goodwill’s Logistics department will be added as well. At that point, there will be 19 employees involved in Manatee County classes. According to Goodwill GoodPartner Coach Pamela Bavo, Goodwill Manasota employs more than 70 people whose primary language is not English, or about 10 percent of its workforce.