A Literary Life

By Kate Jonuska

‘Tis the season for peace on earth and goodwill toward men, but that attitude isn’t seasonal at Goodwill Staffing, a division of Goodwill Industries that provides professional staffing services to local businesses, furthering Goodwill’s mission of spreading self-sufficiency.

“We can say that nobody is in the staffing industry for the same reasons we are. We’re the only non-profit in the area,” says Steve Tooke, assistant director of Goodwill staffing. Tooke has been with Goodwill Industries for 20 years and with Goodwill Staffing since its inception 11 years ago. “That’s not to say that we provide services for free – our fees are competitive – but that’s not the reason we’re in business, to make money.”

Certainly, Goodwill Staffing provides all the quality services of any for-profit staffing agency, including recruitment of employees, background checks, drug screening, skill testing and more. But the heart of the business is to help the economically disadvantaged become self-sufficient by connecting them with work, the surest way to improve their quality of life. Once employees and overhead are paid, all profits funnel back into other Goodwill programs right here in the Pikes Peak region.

“We really run this as a business. It’s not a program that’s just the right thing to do. It’s the smart thing to do,” says Tooke, explaining that many clients are surprised that the agency works with able-bodied job candidates with a wide range of backgrounds, education and experience. “Once they realize the professionalism of the office is comparable to the best out there, it’s an added value that we’re also benefiting the community with what we’re doing.”

CLICK HERE to read the full text of this article, which published in the Dec. 20, 2009 Springs Jobs.