Goodwill Industries International
Spring Conference
May 15-19, 2013
Designing Goodwill Into the Future
OVERVIEW
DESIGNING GOODWILL INTO THE FUTURE
Goodwill agencies continue to be innovative and sustainable social enterprises that fund job training, employment placement services and other community programs by selling donated clothes and household items at Goodwill retail stores and online, and through contract services, private and public grants, and individual giving. Given the constant economic, demographic and technological changes we need to collaborate across disciplines, within the Goodwill enterprise, with government agencies and other community partners; we need to leverage the enterprise through our brand and advocacy efforts in our states as well as on Capitol Hill; and we need to develop our human resources talent and strengthen teams to design Goodwill for the future.
We have designed several different formats that will enable attendees to achieve the objectives above:
LEARNING CENTERS: In between cohort meetings attendees will also have the opportunity to visit three learning centers with other cohort groups. These learning centers are designed to share tools that will offer ideas on how we can work together and with community partners to design Goodwill into the future. The learning centers will focus around technology, public policy and Goodwill 20XX (the Goodwill of the Future).
CONCURRENT SESSIONS: This year, concurrent sessions will be 40 minutes and will help seed the conversation you will have during your cohort experience. Attendees will get to choose which concurrent sessions they would like to attend.
WORKSHOPS: On Saturday afternoon, in addition to concurrent sessions, we have designed 3-hour workshops that will be hands-on and interactive. These workshops will allow attendees to delve into a particular topic for a more intense experience.
PRE-CONFERENCE SESSIONS: Various pre-conference sessions are planned for Thursday, May 16th. Please make note of these pre-conferences and plan your travel arrangements and hotel reservations accordingly. We encourage you to come early and stay late.
HILL VISITS and ADVOCACY-RELATED SESSIONS: On May 16th, attendees are encouraged to participate in meetings on the Hill with Members of Congress and their staff. This is a great opportunity to build relationships with policymakers, educate them about your Goodwill, and strengthen Goodwill’s public policy influence. GII will arrange meetings with those who register for the event. A mandatory training session will be held on Wednesday, May 15th for all individuals conducting Hill visits. Participants will receive their meeting schedules, an in depth overview of GII’s policy priorities, and have an opportunity to role play and discuss each meeting. If you have particular questions regarding the advocacy related sessions and Hill visits, please contact Laura Walling, GII Director of Advocacy & Legislative Affairs at laura.walling@goodwill.org. Please see our FAQ document for more information.
GENERAL SESSIONS: Each morning we will begin the day with motivational assemblies around thought-provoking topics that will help set a context for the material learned during that particular day. Richard Harwood will set the stage Friday morning and he will discuss research he has conducted around the Work of Hope; Jim Gibbons will update conference attendees on Goodwill’s strategic initiatives on Saturday morning; Sunday morning we will hear from Ruby Payne around the Class in the Workplace and we will wrap up the conference with Whitney Johnson, author of Dare. Dream. Do. We will also have luncheon sessions where we will continue to celebrate the Goodwill enterprise.
WE ARE GOING GREEN: To support our Going Green Initiative, hard copies of handouts will not be provided at sessions. All session presentations and handouts will be available on MyGoodwill at least one week before the event, and will remain on MyGoodwill for your reference during and after the meeting. If you want to have hard copies available to you, you can print session materials before you leave for the conference, or on-site at the event by using the computers and printers available in the Technology Learning Center.
SCHOLARSHIPS: Don't forget about the scholarship program, which provides support for local Goodwill representatives to attend the various GII-sponsored events including the Spring and Summer Conferences, Conference of Executives and Delegate Assembly. Scholarships are awarded primarily on financial need. Click here to download the scholarship application. Sholarhsip submission deadline is March 29, 2013.
STAY CONNECTED: Did you learn something new in your cohort session that you want so share with other colleagues? Did you take a picture during an evening out that you want to tweet? Did you want to set up a meeting with a colleague, event sponsor or GII Team Member? This year we will offer three ways for you to stay connected with conference colleagues. Click on the STAY CONNECTED button at the top of this page to learn more about Twitter, eSocial and the Spring Conference App. . Be sure to follow @GoodwillIntl, @GoodwillCapHill and @GiiEvents.
GOODWILL 20XX/TECHNOLOGY LEARNING CENTER: This is the place to grab a snack, meet with colleagues, share ideas on a range of topics and check your e-mail.
Full Conference - $495
Advocacy Only Events - No Fee
LOCAL ACTIVITIES: We encourage you to explore the different neighborhoods in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. We have also planned local activities that will help you explore various neighborhoods while networking with colleagues. You will have the opportunity to select what meets your after-conference social needs ranging from attending an art festival in Virginia to having a night out on the town in Georgetown to watching a Kennedy Center performance or going on a food tour on Capitol Hill.
QUESTIONS
The GII Events Team
