Volunteer Spotlight: Goodwill Internship Program

This Summer, we are excited to collaborate with Goodwill Central Texas and their Summer Youth Employment and Summer Earn and Learn Programs. These programs provide students across a wide range of abilities with opportunities to develop their work readiness skills and earn paid work experience. Austin Creative Reuse is the lucky host of 2 cohorts this summer through these programs. During their 5-week internship, the interns will learn critical job skills like organization, discernment, and patience through tasks such as sorting writing instruments, pricing frames, or organizing paper. Some have chosen to work at the center and are provided a job coach to work alongside them, while others are working from their home.Goodwill intern Juan Carlos has spent 5 weeks with Austin Creative Reuse, doing some of his favorite tasks like stamping, rolling ties, securing yarn, and removing metal from file folders. He says these tasks helped him learn patience, an important skill in many job industries. Although Juan Carlos’ time at Austin Creative Reuse has ended, he is walking away more confident with his skills and with a greater understanding of reusing and its impact on the environment.    We are happy to have a new cohort this month, including interns Janae and Luna. Janae is excited to be helpful and work in a creative environment. Through this experience, they hope to learn how to be open to others and ultimately to have fun. Luna is looking forward to working with others in a team environment, as well as surrounding herself with crafty people and materials!    More information on Goodwill's internship programs can be found on their website.