“I have learned many jobs here at Goodwill and I can earn money to pay my bills and buy the things I want, like a new cell phone. Now I can talk with my friends!”

Alex

In late 2007, Alex felt his life was in turmoil. He had lost his job after the place where he had worked for a few months had suddenly closed, he was in his mid thirties and was visually impaired. This was not his native country, he had immigrated from Russia as a teenager. Feeling desperate, he came to Goodwill NYNJ looking for an opportunity to work.

At our VIP Program, staff placed him at our Astoria Work Center to match his previous work experience. There, he flourished – he took over a myriad projects. He wanted to learn as many tasks as possible to get some work experience under his belt.

“Alex always gives his best to every job he does with a positive attitude that is contagious. People like to work around him.”

Gino Altamirano, Goodwill NYNJ Director of eCommerce and eRecycling

“Alex always gives his best to every job he does with a positive attitude that is contagious. People like to work around him,” says Gino Altamirano, Goodwill NYNJ Director of eCommerce and eRecycling, who has known Alex since he came to Goodwill NYNJ. “Alex learns and quickly completes every project. He does not allow his disability to define him; he decides how to deal with it.”