Back in 2020, Goodman introduced The Goodman Six, a list of our values and what they mean to our organization. As you know, this was before I started at Goodman, and these six values are part of the reason I ended up as GCC's CEO. They align with my personal values so well.

One of the six on the list is equity. Of course, equity is an obvious thing to value at an organization like ours, but as I started to delve into diversity, equity and inclusion work here, I found myself wondering something: What does equity really mean to Goodman? 

So I started to ask. I had made up my mind to develop a DEI vision statement for our organization – to complement our mission, vision and values – and I knew I couldn't (and shouldn't) develop that statement alone. In order to get everyone behind this important work, I needed to demonstrate another one of our values, respect, and get feedback from our community.

I started by speaking with staff and some of Godoman's board members. Then, I spoke to some of our youth participants and our older adults.

I had a set of questions I wanted answers to, and the most remarkable thing happened as I spoke to these groups. In so many areas, they said the same thing. That's right, middle schoolers and high schoolers were talking about DEI in the same way our 50+ population was.

Isn't that amazing?

Now, I'm not going to share what they said – yet – because there's an important next step in this process: Hearing from you. I want to get your unfiltered, un-influenced take on my questions at our first-ever, in-person Community Chat on Wednesday, Oct. 5. I hope you can make it and share your important insights. Everyone from the community is welcome – and encouraged – to attend.

Take care,

Back in July, we set a goal of providing 200 local kids with a backpack and school supplies this year. Thanks to our generous community, we provided more than 400 kids with everything they needed to start the school year off right. WOW! Read the full story here.

Have your own #BeTheGoodMSN story? Share it with us here.

At the end of August, Kesha McCurty, our High School Employment Manager, was awarded the Madison Out-of-School Time (MOST) Outstanding Youth Worker award for her ability to find and maintain both connections and safe spaces with the teens in her program.

Kesha serves as a trusted adult youth can turn to for support, but her most noteworthy quality is her ability to get things done for her teens, even during the constant changes that were presented by the pandemic.

Congratulations, Kesha! This recognition is well deserved.

While our teens' manager, Kesha, was accepting an award for Outstanding Youth Worker, a group of TEENworks youth were making sure everyone at the ceremony had refreshments. The youth showed off their skills as Goodman catered the event.

What a fantastic way to celebrate the success of our TEENworks youth and program leaders like Kesha!

September has arrived, and that means our classrooms are open! We had preschool, 4K, elementary and 6th graders in our halls again last week, and this week the rest of middle school and high school joined them. It feels great to hear the buzz of curiosity and laughter in the halls and the classrooms again, and we're excited for what the 2022/2023 school year holds!

Fall Sports Camps – Still Time to Register!

Our Fit Youth Initiative (FYI) fall sports camps kick off next week, and there's still time to register your child! These camps and clinics are a great way for your child to get active, meet new friends, learn some new skills and improve on existing skills. Kids have the chance to participate in basketball, flag football, volleyball and intro to sports.

FYI is committed to accessibility for all. Scholarships are available.

Along with providing quality food items, our pantry also stocks its shelves with cleaning and hygiene staples like toilet paper, dish soap, tampons, pads and other hygiene products. These products are super necessary for our neighbors in need, and unfortunately, they're also the least likely to get donated. When we do have them in stock, they fly off the shelves!

So our pantry manager, Francesca, decided to get creative and make it even easier for our community to help us keep these products in stock. She created an Amazon wish list, filled with cleaning and hygiene products. Just $15 can go a long way in providing dish soap, toothbrushes, deodorant or any one of the other affordable products on this list.

Join us for our second Love & Legacy Workshop! (Our first, How to Write an Obituary, was such a success!)

Today's financial challenges are obvious every time we turn on the news, pump gas or buy groceries. And for those who were struggling or suffering financially – even before inflation skyrocketed – making ends meet has become impossible. Goodman is feeling the pinch too. Because of inflation, annual donations and in-kind gifts from our loyal supporters will not have the same purchasing power this year. We're planning as much as possible to be proactive and intentional with our resources, and we encourage you to do the same.

The Goodman Center has some of the best benefits in town – no joke. In addition to an incredible health care plan (better than what some much bigger businesses in town offer, we've been told by our staff) and retirement matching, Goodman also offers more than 5 weeks of paid time off in your first year, free childcare for kids in preschool and attending Lowell or Emerson elementary schools, and more.

Our good friends over at Fetch Rewards have come through for us once again! In August, they turned their beautiful new East Washington office into an assembly line, packing more than 100 birthday bags and taco kits for our food pantry. These kits are such treats and super well-received by the customers of our food pantry.

Thank you, Fetch Rewards!

Big thank you to Thysse for being a longtime partner and supporter of Goodman. Thysse is an amazing local print shop that started on Schenk's Corners in the '40s, and when they heard our communications team was in need of a Pantone book (a color guide and design tool), they quickly donated two.

Thysse not only donated some helpful tools, they sent two crews of employees to volunteer before the start of the new school year to spruce up our Red and Blue rooms. They wiped down every surface, scrubbed off gunk and made everything — including the windows — shine.

Letesha Nelson has been GCC's empowering leader since January 2021, and it was a winding road that got her to where she is today. Local journalist Doug Moe caught up with Letesha for the September issue of Madison Magazine. They talked about Letesha's path to Goodman and what drives her to create community wherever she goes.

Pick up a copy of the latest issue, or read the article online.

Last week, Goodman announced that all staff – full time and part time – qualify for free childcare for children in preschool, 4K and elementary school (attending Lowell or Emerson elementary schools). Madison 365 chatted with Letesha to learn more.

The latest issue of Eastside News has hit newsstands, and the cover story takes a closer look at one way Goodman is working to better engage out families.

Families and Schools Together (FAST) is a program that aims to build strong bonds between parents, their children, and their children's schools. It also connects parents to each other to help build up that village every family and child so desperately needs.

Pick up the latest issue of Eastside News to learn more about how Goodman's FAST program is benefitting our families, or read the story online.

Our food pantry is open three days a week to anyone who needs it.

Interested in helping our food pantry serve our community? Check out our list of most-needed items.

Questions? Contact Francesca at francesca@goodmancenter.org or 608-204-8049.

P.S. We have a new and improved online donation system that's incredibly secure, but we are still working out a few functionality kinks. If you make a gift and notice something amiss, please let us know by emailing amie@goodmancenter.org. Thank you!

608.241.1574 | info@goodmancenter.org | goodmancenter.org

Read the Eastside News, our bimonthy, uber-local newspaper.