APOPKA, Fla. — Goodwill Industries of Central Florida recently expanded its job training program to serve local high school students and provide them with hands-on experience by working in seven of its stores.

What You Need To Know

  • A new partnership between Goodwill and Orange, Seminole and Lake counties' school districts allows for 60 exceptional student education (ESE) students to shadow and train with Goodwill employees

  • The students work together in different groups learning everything from taking in donations to sorting and organizing and placing things on the sales floor to get the full experience of what it would be like working on the retail side of Goodwill

  • Evans High School student Jahleke Lewis and a group of his classmates go twice a week to the Goodwill store in Apopka as part of the training program

  • Goodwill leaders said they have plans of expanding this program to reach even more students

Getting that first job experience is an important part of life for teenagers as they step into adulthood. By stepping into the workforce, young people not only gain valuable experience but also learn essential skills that can benefit them in their future careers. 

The partnership between Goodwill and school districts from Orange, Seminole and Lake counties allows for 60 exceptional student education (ESE) students to shadow and train with Goodwill employees at the Leesburg, Clermont, Winter Garden, Apopka, Curry Ford, West Sanford and Oviedo locations. Since August 2024, participants have worked in a variety of jobs, including donation attendants, processors, store clerks and sorters.

On Monday and Tuesday mornings, high school student Jahleke Lewis and a group of his classmates go to the Goodwill store in Apopka.

“The purpose is so they can gain exposure, experience and just a general understanding of what it's like to work in the workplace amongst other coworkers,” community employment and training specialist for Goodwill Zach Chandler said.

The students work together in different groups, learning everything from taking in donations to sorting and organizing and placing things on the sales floor to get the full experience of what it would be like working on the retail side of Goodwill. 

“It’s good, it’s helpful too,” Lewis said.

Lewis enjoys working with the team and has even learned some Spanish from his coworker Maria. 

“Maria, cómo estás? Bien y tú aquí,” he tells her while sorting through clothes. In English, he asked, "Maria, how are you? Fine, and you here?"

Neeshawn Ferdinand is a teacher and instructor at Evans High School. She leads the program that brings this group of students to experience real life work at Goodwill. 

“I am now grateful for the opportunity to be a teacher, to be an educator. Now I pour my experience into my kiddos,” Ferdinand said.

She is also Lewis' mom.

“I found out that he was autistic when he was about 2. During that segment, he started to be verbal. Then eventually he stopped being verbal,” Ferdinand said.

Since that moment she became a strong advocate for Lewis, pushing him to do more and grow to experience opportunities like this. 

“With him even doing this program I have seen his growth. Jahleke is able to do multi steps. I no longer babysit him anymore. I kind of like drop him here and he goes, and he knows his routine. He knows I have to come in. I have to say, 'Hi, I have to go to my station, I have to do this. I have to do that,'” Ferdinand said.

She gets to see first-hand Lewis’s interaction with his colleagues.

“It is an amazing feeling just for him to tell me, I’m going to work today. And then when he walks in here and everybody embraces him so much,” Ferdinand said.

Goodwill leaders said they have plans of expanding this program to reach even more students.

“Making sure that we are working with every school system to provide this same level of care. We have stores in six counties in Central Florida, and we want to make sure we're serving all of them so our expansion looks like: Can we be everywhere doing this?” Chandler said.

Donations from the community allow Goodwill to create jobs and support employment training services for students in Central Florida.

For more information about Goodwill, its job programs and how to apply to work at the organization, visit www.goodwillcfl.org.