$500,000 donation to double Goodwill OC’s Career Center services

The Orange County Register, Staff Report – May 26, 2017

Goodwill of Orange County got a big gift from a Costa Mesa law firm to help the nonprofit expand its career and job placement services.

The $500,000 donation from Greenberg Gross is the largest single donation made so far to Goodwill OC’s career center, which was renamed Greenberg Gross Career Center.

“Greenberg Gross has been a huge champion of Goodwill’s mission for years,” said Frank Talarico, president and CEO of Goodwill OC. “The firm removes barriers to justice for its clients in the same way we remove barriers to employment for our community. We are honored to receive this mission-enhancing gift that will result in thousands of additional members of our community benefitting from the value of work.”

Wayne Gross, a Greenberg Gross partner and the former Orange County chief U.S. attorney, has served on Goodwill’s board for the past three years.

“We are passionate advocates for helping people reach their full potential and thrive,” Gross said.

Goodwill in a statement said the donation will help the center more than double its workforce development services, which include providing education, training and employment services.

The announcement was made Thursday, May 25 during a renaming ceremony at 200 N. Fairview St. in Santa Ana.

The 6,200 square-foot career center also provides job-seeking skill training, mobility training, personal development and grooming, academic support, personal social adjustment skills, vocational English and individualized job exploration and placement tailored to the person’s needs and abilities.

Last year, Goodwill said its staff provided more than 340,000 hours of job coaching, 61,278 days of placement services, 40,952 days of services and more than 4,000 instructor-led training hours.

Moving forward with the donation, the center plans to hire more training staff and instructors, buy new computers and upgrade software, training and testing materials, and provide more hours of job coaching and tailored job placement services.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011-2015 American Community Survey, there are more than 250,000 people, both adults and children, in Orange County with disabilities.

The donation also names Greenberg Gross as the presenting sponsor for Goodwill’s annual Gala fundraising event for future years.