BAKERSFIELD - Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) has introduced the Mentoring America's Children Act of 2010 as one of three pieces of legislation that he believes will help create a better 21st century education system for all American children.

As he offered this legislation on the Senate floor, Dodd said, "Mentoring programs that provide youth with support, advice, friendship, positive reinforcement and constructive examples have proved to be a powerful tool for enhancing positive development among youth. Thus, mentoring invests not only in the individual child, but our Nation's future success."

The Mentoring America's Children Act of 2010 would strengthen the No Child Left Behind mentoring grant program by providing the resources necessary to sustain these programs, ensure their effectiveness and target students who are likely to benefit the most from mentoring - youth growing up in foster care or students in areas that have high rates of crime, gang violence or drug abuse.

Goodwill Industries of South Central California is proud to have already launched a Youth Mentoring program available to the youth of Kern County.

Goodwill Industries of South Central California, in partnership with Goodwill Industries International has been working to mentor local youth since January of this year. The GoodGuides program is designed to assist youth in overcoming disadvantages and avoiding delinquency. The effort is part of a national mentoring program that helps teens finish school and transition into productive careers through the guidance of trusted adults.

"Goodwill has a long history of helping people find work," said Tammy Reynolds, GoodGuides Program Coordinator. "A crucial part of that history is making sure that families are strong. Goodwill GoodGuides can help keep youth who are at some risk of not doing well in school and not sure of their path to adulthood, we can help them make good choices and succeed into independent successful adults."/

The overall goal of the Goodwill GoodGuides program is to help youth build career plans and skills, and prepare for school completion, post-secondary training and productive work by providing structured and supportive relationships with trusted adult mentors. It targets youths between the ages of 12 and 17 who are at-risk for dropping out of school, are at risk for delinquency due to issues such as abuse, disability, drug or alcohol dependence, or gang membership. "We are looking to help the youth who just need a trusted adult help them figure out what their future holds." Ms. Reynolds states.

"With Goodwill GoodGuides, we will be able to offer expanded mentoring services to the youth of our community," said Ms. Reynolds. "Goodwil will recruit, train and support volunteer mentors to engage youth in promoting their career development and life skills." With the help of Goodwill Industries and the community partners already involved in this innovative program, youth and their mentors will be able to job shadow businesses, get hands on experience in the vocation of their choice and see first hand the many amazing opportunities that our great cities has to offer.

The Goodwill GoodGuides program has been active since March of this year in Bakersfield. Already there have been over a dozen GoodGuides matches and many local youth have been referred to the program. If you're interested in becoming a volunteer mentor or know of a youth who would benefit from this program, please call 661-837-0595 x 361

Goodwill Industries of South Central California is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to provide work opportunities and skills development to people with barriers to employment. Currently, Goodwill Industries of South Central California has 11 locations to serve its territory which includes all of Kern County, Kings County, and the Southern-half of Tulare County. For more information, please visit our website at: www.giscc.org.

Bakersfield, CA - The Bakersfield Blaze announced today that it has partnered with Goodwill Industries of South Central California to bring in minor league baseball's most popular national act, ZOOperstars! Saturday August 7th.

"We are thrilled to finally bring ZOOperstars to Sam Lynn Ballpark and we are thankful to Goodwill industries of South Central California for supporting our mission of providing fun, family entertainment to the Bakersfield community," said General Manager Justin Kozubal. "ZOOperstars! is one for the most popular and most recognizable national acts in the country and we expect the event to sell-out."

With charters like Manatee Ramirez, Clammy Sosa, and Shark McGwire, the ZOOperstars! will rock Sam Lynn Ballpark with routines that fans of all ages will love.

Additionally, the Blaze and Goodwill announced today a partnership to help increase donations over the remainder of the season. Beginning Monday August 1, 2010 all fans donating a new or gently used item at the Sam Lynn Ballpark donation center will receive a voucher good for one General Admission ticket to any Sunday through Wednesday regular season home game.

“Goodwill Industries of South Central California is proud to partner with the Bakersfield Blaze and their efforts to continually provide our community with family-friendly entertainment," said Ken Beurmann, Vice President of Business Development. "At Goodwill, we'd like to encourage all of Bakersfield to come out to the baseball game, donate a gently-used item to help create jobs, and enjoy ZOOperstars!"

For more information on ZOOperstars! please check out http://www.zooperstars.com/

The Bakersfield Blaze is a charter member of the California League, and the Class-A Affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The Blaze play 70 regular season home games in Historic Sam Lynn Ballpark which is entering its 69th year. Tickets are now on sale. For more information call (661) 716-4487 or go to www.bakersfieldblaze.com to see a full promotional schedule.

Goodwill Industries of South Central California is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to provide work opportunities and skills development to people with barriers to employment. Currently, Goodwill Industries of South Central California has 11 locations to serve its territory which includes all of Kern County, Kings County, and the Southern-half of Tulare County. For more information, please visit our website at: www.giscc.org.

BAKERSFIELD - When Goodwill Industries of South Central California and Kern Regional Center (KRC) first partnered to provide micro-enterprise services to clients with disabilities so that they could actually own and operate their own businesses, neither entity could have imagined how quickly that innovate dream would turn into a reality.

On Thursday, March 4th, at 2:00 pm, Goodwill will proudly host the ribbon cutting of its fifth micro-enterprise business, "Artists Beyond Barriers," at its Downtown facility on the corner of 18th St. and Chester Ave. Apart from featuring Artists Beyond Barriers, Goodwill will also be exposing several other up-and-coming businesses to the public, and Mikey's Hot Dog Stand will be offering refreshments.

"In this economy, any time a new business opens its doors to the public, it's a big deal; any time that business is being operated by individuals suffering from Neurological Cerebral Palsy, it's a phenomenal accomplishment" - stated Goodwill CEO Sheryl Chalupa.

Javier Chavez and Susan Kim both share a driven desire to succeed in life. They both share a love of art, and they both share the same medical condition that makes even simple movements the most daunting of tasks because of a nervous system disorder. That disability has stopped neither one from creating beautiful pieces of artwork and profound pieces of poetry, all of which will be prominently on display at their ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday.

Through Goodwill's Customized Employment Options (CEO) program, Javier and Susan were provided the unique opportunity to plan, develop, and now operate their own business; something all of us have dreamed about, while few of us have ever achieved.

Goodwill Industries of South Central California is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to provide work opportunities and skills development to people with barriers to employment. Currently, Goodwill Industries of South Central California has 11 locations to serve its territory which includes all of Kern County, Kings County, and the Southern-half of Tulare County. For more information, please visit our website at: www.giscc.org.

BAKERSFIELD - Goodwill Industries of South Central California is proud to launch a new program in Bakersfield designed to assist youth in overcoming disadvantages and avoiding delinquency. The effort is part of a national mentoring program known as Goodwill GoodGuides that helps teens finish school and transition into productive careers through the guidance of trusted adults.

"Goodwill has a long history of helping people find work," said CEO Sheryl Chalupa. "A crucial part of that history is making sure that families are strong. Goodwill GoodGuides can help keep youth who are at-risk get on the right path, away from trouble and toward a better future. That’s good for everyone involved."

The Goodwill GoodGuides program in Bakersfield is made possible through a two-year, $299,723 grant to Goodwill of Industries of South Central California. The donation is part of a $19.1 million award to Goodwill Industries International from the U.S. Department of Justice and dispersed to 56 independent Goodwill agencies around the country.

The overall goal of the Goodwill GoodGuides program is to help youth build career plans and skills, and prepare for school completion, post-secondary training and productive work by providing structured and supportive relationships with trusted adult mentors. It targets youths between the ages of 12 and 17 who are at-risk for dropping out of school, facing legal troubles, or are at risk for delinquency due to issues such as abuse, disability, drug or alcohol dependence, or gang membership.

"With Goodwill GoodGuides, we will be able to offer expanded mentoring services to the youth of our community," said Kirsten Myers, VP of Workforce Development. "Goodwill will recruit, train, and support volunteer mentors to engage youth in promoting their career development and life skills."

The Goodwill GoodGuides program will launch on January 11 in Bakersfield. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer mentor or know of a youth who would benefit from this program, please call (661) 837-0595.

Goodwill Industries of South Central California is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to provide work opportunities and skills development to people with barriers to employment. Currently, Goodwill Industries of South Central California has 11 locations to serve its territory which includes all of Kern County, Kings County, and the Southern-half of Tulare County.

BAKERSFIELD - At 2:00am on November 21st, Goodwill Warehouse Manager Jarred Kinnaird was well into his usual nightshift hours. However, a routine Saturday night turned into anything but when a vehicle became stuck on the train tracks just off Sumner Street behind Goodwill's Union Clearance Center.

"I heard some kind of loud noise coming from behind our property. With closer observation, I could see a white SUV had gone through the guardrails and was now stuck on the tracks," Kinnaird stated. After dialing 911 to inform police of the situation, Mr. Kinnaird's worst fear came to reality as he heard an oncoming train in the very near distance.

"I again called the police and told them we now have a train coming and the vehicle is still on the tracks, and pleaded with them to contact the conductor and get this train stopped," said Kinnaird. After this second phone call, the train finally came to a stop – a mere 15 feet before crushing the car that had crashed onto the tracks just minutes before.

"Jarred said he was just doing what any other human being would have done in that situation, but I don't see it that way, I believe Jarred Kinnaird is a hero," said Randy Walker, VP of Administrative Services at Goodwill. "That kid didn't panic, he kept his head, and he responded immediately to a situation where multiple lives could have been in danger."

Goodwill CEO Sheryl Chalupa said Jarred will be formally honored for his heroic actions by the organization at its upcoming Christmas party. "Jarred's always been a terrific manager, but today, Goodwill Industries of South Central California could not be prouder of the way he handled this life-threatening situation."

Goodwill Industries of South Central California is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to provide work opportunities and skills development to people with barriers to employment. Currently, Goodwill Industries of South Central California has 11 locations to serve its territory which includes all of Kern County, Kings County, and the Southern-half of Tulare County.