By Pete Gawda
Goodwill organizations assist more than 1.7 million people with training and career resources and place more than 140,000 people into community employment each year, according to Goodwill Industries International.
In 2024, Goodwill of Colorado reported that 143,061 Coloradans received help through community programs. That same year, 1,689 Coloradans with barriers to employment, such as disabilities, gaps in employment records or incarceration, were placed in new jobs.
In the Colorado Springs area, there are eight retail stores, one outlet and one stand-alone donation center.
Goodwill not only offers bargains on clothing and household items, but the nonprofit agency also helps rebuild the lives of thousands of people nationwide.
Glenna Stanley, manager of Goodwill’s Falcon retail store, and Karlos Poindexter, a Goodwill employee at the Academy Boulevard retail store, are two people whose employment obstacles were mitigated by Goodwill.
Stanley said she is one of those people who got a break because of Goodwill. “I believe in Goodwill’s mission,” she said. Goodwill’s mission is to help people from all backgrounds reach their potential by advancing their careers and allowing them to achieve their definition of success, according to Goodwill’s website. Of all Goodwill employees, 65% have an employment barrier.
Stanley’s roadblock to employment was spending almost five years incarcerated. She then spent five months in a Community Corrections program that reintegrates formerly incarcerated people into society. Participants live at a facility and work at various jobs during the day.
While employed as a day laborer, she heard that Goodwill was hiring and applied. “They hired me on the spot,” she said. In addition to on-the-job training, Goodwill sent her to Colorado College. “That was part of their investment in me,” Stanley said. “We have to be truly invested in the employees to make them successful.” She referred to the process as “putting aces in the right places.”
Stanley became a manager and worked at several different Goodwill locations in the Colorado Springs area. She then worked on special projects, such as assisting supervisors or filling in for them during vacations.
When the Falcon retail store opened in the fall of 2025, Stanley said Goodwill told her, “No more special projects, we want you to go to Falcon.” Stanley is a Falcon resident, so it was an “ace in the right place” for her.
She interviewed the original 49 employees at Falcon. “I could see the potential in them,” she said. “Most of them are still at the store.”
“What I like best about the job is the people,” she said. “There are such a variety of people. They need a second chance. You can never judge a book by its cover. If someone is willing to work, you need to give them the opportunity.”
Stanley said Goodwill is a great company that stands behind its mission. “I would not have been here for 21 years if I didn’t believe in the mission,” she said. “They changed my life.”
After seven years of incarceration, Poindexter was released to a community program similar to Stanley’s and has been with Goodwill since Feb. 24, 2025. He started by sorting donations at Goodwill and later became a janitor.
“I love it. Everybody looks out for each other,” Poindexter said. “My goal has always been to be a supervisor. I am a people person.”
He is looking forward to starting the fall semester at Pikes Peak State College to pursue a nursing degree. Poindexter said he plans to continue working with Goodwill while in school.
He said he attends Friday on-the-job training classes where he learns executive skills and receives help building his résumé. Of Goodwill, he said, “They are there to help because they have good hearts.”
Thomas Turner is program manager for both ReHire Colorado and CW STEP (Colorado Works Subsidized Training and Employment Program) for Goodwill in the Colorado Springs and Denver areas. Both programs are administered by the Colorado Department of Human Services for people with employment hurdles. The programs allow Goodwill to offer education, training and direct employment opportunities for participants.
Turner started with Goodwill 10 years ago, directly after college. He worked other jobs at Goodwill before becoming program manager for ReHire, an 11-week transitional program with three priorities: veterans, people older than 50 and custodial parents who are paying child support. CW STEP is for those participating in Colorado Basic Cash Assistance.
At any given time, there are 20 to 30 Goodwill employees in the Colorado Springs area in the ReHire program. During this fiscal year (July 2025 through June 2026), Goodwill has hired 35 people through CW STEP.
“Our goal is to help people transition to the workforce,” Turner said.“We go through an assessment. What we are really trying to gauge is their motivation. As long as they are motivated, that’s what we are looking for.
“It’s really part of our mission to help folks find their highest level of economic independence.”
Turner said his job allows him to get to know participants and watch them take the next step in life. “It is very rewarding.”
