Goodwill’s YouthWorks program is looking to help more people like Teraja Bull work toward — and realize — their career goals.
“They helped me get a corporate internship my senior year at college,” said Bull, a Duquesne resident who graduated from Penn State in 2020 with a degree in management and marketing. “I worked for them during covid as well, on things like self-improvement tasks and things to help me develop and grow.”
YouthWorks has been around since the late 1990s, but merged with Goodwill in 2013 to increase both groups’ reach when it comes to helping young people explore careers, learn job-readiness skills or find jobs and internships.
“We’re looking for individuals in the 17-24 demographic,” said Tiffanee Heywood, director at YouthWorks headquarters in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood. “Are they looking for their first job? Are they looking for a career change? Or are they looking to enroll in post-secondary training?”
Bull was seeking an internship, but through Goodwill and YouthWork’s Impact program, she also received help with her resume, $25 gas cards each week that she said were invaluable when she was attending college and not working, and a leg up in deciding what she wanted to do with her career.
“We’re able to offer different paid-work experiences, and our case workers go out to meet clients in the community, to really help you dig down and figure out your next steps,” Heywood said.
For Bull, that next step was moving into her current job with Progressive insurance, where she has worked for the past four months.
“YouthWorks helped me prepare for that job interview,” she said. “And, even though I’m out of the program, they’re not out of my life. They still check to see how I’m doing and to see if they can help in any way.”
In addition to the Impact program, YouthWorks also offers a 12-week retail program to train participants in the retail economy.
“People who complete the program are guaranteed a job at a Goodwill store,” Heywood said. “Someone might start off working as a cashier, and we’ll give them all the skills and support they need to one day be the store manager.”
There is also the ”LifeLaunch: Ignite” program, for young people who have run afoul of the justice system and are looking for a fresh start.
“Maybe they did something when they were 14, and now they’re looking for that second chance, wanting to know how to find that first job or how to enroll in community college,” Heywood said.
The programs are free.
Goodwill operates 28 stores in its Southwestern Pennsylvania service area. For more, see GoodWillSPA.org/youth-services or call 412-632-1742.
