Community leaders convene at Goodwill to advance workforce, resource expansion

Community partners, business leaders, and nonprofit stakeholders recently gathered at Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries for a collaborative meeting focused on strengthening access to regional resources and advancing a shared initiative to grow a Community Solutions Campus and satellite hubs across the Mahoning Valley and beyond.

Organizers said the discussion highlighted the continued development of the Social Information Exchange Network (SIEN) using the Unite Us platform, a regional effort to better connect organizations through coordinated referrals and shared data, ensuring individuals can more easily access the services they need.

They said the discussion also focused on Goodwill’s holistic approach to workforce development and outlined plans to expand services into new communities, including a future satellite hub at the organization’s upcoming East Liverpool retail and donation center later this year.

The meeting brought together leaders from education, healthcare, economic development, social services, and the business community to align on local workforce needs and identify opportunities to better connect individuals to employment, training, and supportive services. Participants engaged in dialogue about how co-located resources can reduce barriers to employment while strengthening community partnerships.

“This is about meeting people where they are and making opportunity more accessible,” said Shelley Murray, CEO of Goodwill Industries. “By working alongside our community and business partners, we can create hubs that not only provide retail and donation services, but also serve as gateways to job training, career pathways, and vital community resources. The collaboration we saw today reinforces that this work is most effective when it’s done together.”

Officials said besides the SIEN, another focus of the meeting was Goodwill’s initiative to grow a Community Solutions Campus in Liberty and satellite hubs across the region. These hubs may include access to workforce training, career coaching, digital skills development, and connections to wraparound supports such as transportation, childcare, or housing resources — tailored to the specific needs of each community.

“Our goal is to listen first and then build solutions that reflect what each community truly needs,” said Carol Holmes-Chambers, Community Solutions Director at Goodwill. “The Social Information Exchange Network and satellite hub model allows us to be flexible and responsive. By incorporating a digital infrastructure and embedding services in places people already know and trust, we create more touchpoints for engagement and more pathways to success. The SIEN strengthens this work by ensuring that those connections don’t stop at the door but continue through coordinated referrals and real follow-through across partners.”

Officials said together, the expansion of physical hubs and the SIEN represent a unified approach to building a more connected and responsive system of care and workforce support.

For more information about Goodwill’s programs, partnerships, or upcoming expansions, visit goodwillyoungstown.org.