Goodwill bucks jobs trend, places more clients in ’09

Karen Hotz is becoming a familiar face to students at Coe College.

Hotz, 39, works in the Gage Memorial Union dining hall for Sodexho, which operates the college's food service under contract.

Since starting Aug. 24, Hotz has kept the soft drink machines and milk dispensers cleaned and filled, among other duties.

“The students are friendly,” Hotz said. “They say, ‘Hi, how are you doing?'?”

Hotz is a client of Goodwill of the Heartland in Iowa City, which works to offer individuals with disabilities the opportunity to work and reach their highest level of independence. She was referred to Goodwill by Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services.

Despite economic challenges facing Eastern Iowa employers, Goodwill has been able to buck employment trends. In the first 10 months of this year, Goodwill helped obtain 329 jobs for workers, arranged 74 internships for those in training and graduated 74 individuals.

Another 416 jobs were maintained for individuals who had worked with Goodwill in finding a job.

Each of Goodwill's 12 retail stores serve as training and work sites. More than 425 clients worked in one of the stores or in some aspect of preparing goods donated to Goodwill for sale in a store.

Another 88 clients worked in Goodwill's Contract Services division, producing products or providing value-added services for area businesses.

“Karen originally came to us in 2003 to do work site assessments,” said Kari Van Zee, an employment specialist with Goodwill. “ ... We determined that Karen needed some additional training, so she worked for the two years at one of our retail stores.”

Hotz was working for Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids under contract with Goodwill, but lost that job to college budget cuts.

“We thought she would be a really good fit here at Coe,” Van Zee said. A job coach regularly meets with her, and she is expected to graduate from Goodwill in 90 days.

Brandon Blietz, resident dining manager for Sodexho, said Hotz has shown she can handle more responsibility. “We have four Goodwill clients working here right now, but Karen has been our shining star,” he said.

Hotz said her job with Sodexho allows her to be home before and after school with 11-year-old daughter. Having a job coach to answer questions has been very helpful, she said.

“Without them, you wouldn't know what you were doing,” she said.