Community Impact Report

When you aren’t sure which road to take, having someone to guide you can make all the difference. Goodwill provided the pathway, but it was Tommy who had the drive and passion to succeed.

When you aren’t sure which road to take, having someone to guide you can make all the difference. Goodwill provided the pathway, but it was Tommy who had the drive and passion to succeed.

Due to a physical disability with his hand, Tommy was sometimes bullied by his peers and suffered from depression, which led him to inflict injury upon himself. With the guidance of family and a Milwaukee Public School psychologist, Tommy began to open up about his feelings and apply himself to his studies.

Tommy was in the inaugural class of Career and Technical Education students from Milwaukee Public Schools who attended classroom training in Skills for Life and Work and Goodwill’s Culinary Institute Program. This new partnership between Goodwill Workforce Development, Goodwill TalentBridge and Milwaukee Public Schools was created to bring awareness of training programs and opportunities students can access. After hearing about the options available, Tommy applied for and participated in Goodwill’s Culinary Training sessions at Goodwill’s Café 1919. While in training, Tommy gained valuable work experience, as well as his ServSafe Certification. Not only did Tommy graduate from Goodwill’s Culinary Institute Training Program, he also graduated from Vincent High School in 2016.

Tommy is currently working two part-time jobs and preparing for college in the fall. He will be majoring in psychology and is eager to learn how life experiences and circumstances shape the people we become.