{"id":781665,"date":"2026-02-10T18:28:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T18:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/?p=781665"},"modified":"2026-03-27T14:38:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T14:38:32","slug":"my-goodwill-story-joshua","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/blog\/impact-spotlight\/my-goodwill-story-joshua\/","title":{"rendered":"My Goodwill Story – Joshua"},"content":{"rendered":"

In honor of Black History Month,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0celebrating the individuals whose journeys embody resilience,\u00a0purpose\u00a0and pride. Joshua\u2019s story stands out as a powerful example.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not many\u00a0people can say they were shot nine times and survived, but\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0what happened to Joshua. When he was\u00a0initially\u00a0brought to the hospital, doctors\u00a0didn’t\u00a0think\u00a0he’d\u00a0pull through.\u00a0After months on the mend, the next challenge was being able to walk again. Medical staff thought it was unlikely due to the severity of Joshua\u2019s injuries.\u00a0But they underestimated his perseverance.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He beat the odds and was able to walk again,\u00a0albeit with some difficulty.\u00a0Joshua wanted to start work\u00a0again,\u00a0but\u00a0needed somewhere that would be understanding of his mobility issues.\u00a0He was referred to Goodwill Industries of the Upstate\/Midlands South Carolina (Greenville)\u00a0because of its career services.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding the Right Job<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully, the team knew a job that would be a perfect fit for Joshua. It was a detailing and pressure washing company, but more\u00a0importantly, the owner\u00a0had his\u00a0own\u00a0lived experience and became a mentor to Joshua.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because of support from shoppers, donors and funders, Goodwill\u00ae was also able to\u00a0purchase\u00a0the uniform Joshua needed for his new position.\u00a0Despite his mobility issues, he\u00a0insisted on being trained in\u00a0an area that would challenge and strengthen his body. After some time on the job, Joshua\u2019s difficulty walking became unnoticeable.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You might think he stopped there, but Joshua had bigger dreams. He is planning to attend college and wants to obtain his CDL. He found a full-time position with a food distribution company\u00a0that paid him a living wage and plans to sponsor him through driving school to obtain his CDL.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What would have stopped many people in their tracks\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0slowed Joshua down.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0proud of his determination and look forward to seeing what\u00a0he\u2019ll\u00a0accomplish\u00a0next.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reach out to your local\u00a0<\/span>Goodwill career center<\/span><\/a>\u00a0if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0interested in seeing what support is\u00a0available\u00a0to you.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Locate a Career Center<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In honor of Black History Month,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0celebrating the individuals whose journeys embody resilience,\u00a0purpose\u00a0and pride. Joshua\u2019s story stands out as a powerful example.\u00a0\u00a0 Not many\u00a0people can say they were shot nine times and survived, but\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0what happened to Joshua. When he was\u00a0initially\u00a0brought to the hospital, doctors\u00a0didn’t\u00a0think\u00a0he’d\u00a0pull through.\u00a0After months on the mend, the next challenge was being able to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":781673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-781665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impact-spotlight","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=781665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":781667,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781665\/revisions\/781667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/781673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=781665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodwill.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=781665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}