'Touch somebody else's life': Goodwill Big Bend opens new resource center in Springfield

PANAMA CITY — Goodwill Industries-Big Bend Inc. held a grand opening for its new Career Resource Center in Springfield on Sept. 19.

Community leaders such as Springfield Mayor Ralph Hammond, representatives from the Bay County Chamber of Commerce, Goodwill board members and CEO Fred Shelfer were present alongside others for the opening. Goodwill staff and representatives gave tours and explained the different functions of the facility.

The building boasts 13,000 square feet and houses a 140-person lecture hall, multiple computer labs and classrooms, employer partner cubicles and a room dedicated to Goodwill's certified nursing assistant training program.

"The students that are going to leave here are going to touch somebody else's life," Hammond said. "One thing I really want to stress is that they do this for zero cost."

The new career center is part of a Goodwill complex of sorts at 3219 E. U.S. 98, which contains the old administrative building, a warehouse for shipments, an outlet and some nearby affordable housing owned by the company.

At one point, the building was a collection of different stores, however Hurricane Michael left the building in a state of disrepair. The company acquired the building, renovated it and then converted it into the new career center.

"What is particularly special about this ribbon cutting and grand opening is that everyone is able to see in real-life why goodwill does what it does," Shelfer said. "This [career center] is the 'why' behind everything we do. Most people see our stores and they know we have retail and we sell used clothing and merchandise, but they don't know why we do that. This is the 'special sauce' that makes goodwill relevant to our communities."

Shelfer said that the mission of the new building will be to train, educate and place people into jobs. He says they've been providing services to Springfield for 20 years. Florida Power and Light representatives presented Shelfer with a $10,000 donation at the opening to help support the facility.

One of the guides for the tour of the facility said she started out at a Goodwill career center and is now pursuing her master's degree and providing training to those with disabilities.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: 'Touch somebody else's life': Goodwill Big Bend opens new resource center in Springfield