Congratulations to College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) Basic Skills Education (BSE) program, recently recognized by Easterseals-Goodwill as a Community Partner during the organization’s Idaho Awards Celebration May 2, 2019. The following was presented by Easterseals-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain President and CEO, Michelle Belknap, during the event in acknowledgement of this achievement and in appreciation of the College’s impact on the community:
"The community partner award recognizes a person or business that goes beyond normal business expectations to enhance the lives of the people we serve. This year we have three community partners in Idaho to recognize. This first community partner is the College of Western Idaho. Easterseals-Goodwill is one of three independent Goodwill organizations that was selected to implement a pilot program called GoodPaths, which helps retail workers advance their careers. GoodPaths, is a first-of-its-kind career navigation initiative aimed at the broader retail industry. We currently utilize this model in all of our retail stores, as well as with employers in the community that we partner with. Since October 2017, the Treasure Valley Healthcare Council, which includes community agencies such as us and the College of Western Idaho, have partnered with Saint Alphonsus to improve recruitment and retention efforts. CWI was the first of many community partners that expressed an interest and pursued our training to train their own staff. Because of CWI’s willingness to embrace the model, we were the first of the GoodPaths pilot sites across the nation to expand the coaching model outside Goodwill and the retail sector. With CWI’s excellent reputation, other partners followed suit and joined them in receiving the training, and to provide individuals and families within the community this great opportunity to experience the positive impact of an evidence based career coaching model. Thank you to the College of Western Idaho for partnering with us to help others."
“The BSE program at CWI relies on solid partnerships, like the one we have with Easterseals-Goodwill, to leverage services for the betterment of our students,” said BSE Director, Jac Webb. “Thank you to Easterseals-Goodwill for this honorable recognition!”