Goodwill Manasota recently received a grant of $85,920 from the Ralph S. French Charitable Foundation in support of its GoodPartner Coach program. This is the 11th year that Goodwill has received funding from the French Foundation for this purpose; this year’s award is the largest ever from the French Foundation to Goodwill. The funds were requested so that Goodwill could hire additional GoodPartner coaches.

The GoodPartner Coach program provides individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment—of Goodwill’s 700 employees, 65 percent have a self-identified disability or disadvantage—with employability skills training and case management services. The goal of the program is to enable those who may have been overlooked elsewhere to gain positive personal and workplace behaviors and skills, feel the pride of earning a paycheck and move toward self-sufficiency, build a strong work history, and develop the experience and skills to position them for higher paying jobs outside of Goodwill. Every Goodwill Manasota employee is assigned a GoodPartner coach.