You may have heard about our recent partnership with Goodwill of the Big Bend, but if not, I'm happy to toot our horn right here. If you know anything about Envision, you know that we are always searching for ways to support Education all year long. The back-to-school rush is always a perfect time to get involved, but sometimes there are SO MANY things happening that it's difficult to decide whether we should jump on someone else's bandwagon or create our own thing. This Summer we struggled with this very thing. We wanted to be sure to offer support, but felt a bit overwhelmed with where our dollars would go the furthest.
So, we decided to wait. We continued to ponder different ideas. Where could we find a chance to fill a gap that hasn't already been provided for in the communities that we serve. The discussion of students not getting enough school supplies, or even clothes, for the new school year came up. Lightbulb! Maybe we could buy vouchers from Goodwill for students that still need things to go shop! Goodwill is in every market that we are in! This is perfect. So, we reach out to Goodwill and ask if we can buy vouchers from them. They liked the idea so much, that they wanted in on it and offered to match our purchase DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR! As you can imagine, this put a huge smile on our face, if our entire organization, could smile that is. :) Goodwill totally caught what we were throwing! Fred Shelfer Jr., Goodwill's CEO, put it perfectly, "Our team recognizes that when students feel good about themselves, they are more likely to do better in the classroom. We hope that these vouchers will assist families during the back to school season."
We are happy to say that we have distributed over 250 vouchers, valued at $20 each, to students in Leon, Gadsden, Jackson, Decatur, and Thomas counties! These vouchers are valid through November 30, 2019.
We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with a great organization like Goodwill Big Bend. Envision's core values are built upon supporting the education community and it's important for us to encourage programs that directly impact the lives of students. And we aren't the only folks who think so. Check out these news pieces spreading this true good-will effort across the five counties that we have financial centers in.
Thomasville Times Enterprise:
September 16 Article
The Union Recorder:
Goodwill, Envision Vouchers
The Post Search Light:
