Goodwill’s massive $22 million Opportunity Campus is done. Take a quick peek inside
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Goodwill recently opened its new 18-acre Leon Levine Opportunity Campus.
It’s a place that brings together everything that Goodwill does, from job and skill training to job placement and creation for those in the community that may not have otherwise been afforded the opportunities.
With the creation of the campus — and the consolidating of seven different Goodwill properties — the company expects to serve 21,479 people annually and fill more than 3,000 jobs by 2025.
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Take a look inside.
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The classes on the campus that include career coaching and planning, hospitality, life skills, customer service and construction (just to name a few) are taught in actual classrooms.
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The School of Retail, however, is a bit different – it’s taught in a to-scale model of a real Goodwill and makes students ready for their first day on the job.
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When it comes to job search and placement, candidates head to the Job Resource Center for help with things like résumés, where there’s also a full-service, temporary job staffing agency.
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Hallways are lined with art made by people who frequent the center and are for sale. 100% of profits go to the individual artist.
Bank of America created a Community Space, complete with individual conference and banquet rooms.
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The spaces are rented, free of charge, to nonprofit organizations during business hours. For for-profit organizations, prices to rent the rooms are competitive.
In addition to working with adults, the center also works with and mentors kids in high school to figure out what their next move is – and they stick with them through it.
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The walls are covered in inspirational quotes. And check out the candy bar.
Hungry? Stop by the Community Table Bistro, where the most expensive thing on the menu hovers around $8.
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All ingredients are locally-sourced and the decorations on the wall actually come from donations to Goodwill.
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There’s even a patio with a view of the garden used for the bistro.
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The center also has nurse practitioners from the Charlotte Community Health Clinic (prices are decided upon by a sliding scale), a full-service Charlotte Metro Credit Union branch, Common Wealth Charlotte and a Center for Community Transitions that help those with criminal backgrounds transition into the working community.
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