We recently received a lovely letter from Goodwill TulsaWORKS Director Sabrina Ware regarding one of her students who completed their career academy. Security Bank is honored to partner with Goodwill and to actively participate in the TulsaWORKS training program, providing financial education classes. The following success story reminds us of the importance of giving our time, talents and resources to aide local groups like Goodwill who are truly changing lives through their programs and services. Here is a story that inspires us, told by Ware.
"One of our students started his IT career in an unlikely place. Similar to the circumstances of many others in the past two years, he lost his job of eight years and, soon after, his apartment due to the pandemic. He had family to lean on and help him out, moving in with his brother 45 minutes away. After looking for employment for a full year unsuccessfully, he recognized issues with his mental health due to stress and sought assistance from local health services. He received medical and counseling assistance, as well as contacts with his local Goodwill organization. Reaching out, he discovered there is much more to Goodwill than affordable clothes; Goodwill also offers professional training programs."
"The student reached out and enrolled in an online, introductory IT training course and continued his journey with the Google IT Support Professional Certificate program. Here [At Goodwill], he learned computer networking, the foundations of cybersecurity, systems administration, and IT infrastructure through virtual labs and online assignments. Once he completed the program, his local Goodwill continued to support his career development with job leads, resume development, interview preparation, and near-constant encouragement. He gained employment with a tech company listed as “One of America’s Best Large Employers of 2021” by Forbes and cited by Virtual Vocations as a “Top 25 Employer Partner for Remote Work” in 2020 as a support technician in September of 2021 and as of April of 2022, he accepted a position as a service desk representative for an IT consulting firm. Goodwill is continuing to coordinate support for the former student with local resources such as the Savings Match Program, allowing him to rebuild his savings through matching funds from Security Bank."
Goodwill TulsaWORKS provides career training and preparation plus community networking to help people find successful employment! Learn more about Goodwill TulsaWORKS at goodwilltulsa.org.
Photo: Security Bank Vice President, Deposit Services Ryan Webb talks about financial literacy to a class at Goodwill TulsaWORKS career academy.