Michael Law's Success

Michael recently won the Rise Up award at the Goodwill Annual Awards banquet. This award recognizes a Goodwill program participant for outstanding achievement in overcoming barriers to attain and maintain employment.

Michael graduated from the Goodwill Vocational Adjustment/Work Ready program. He completed 400 hours of education and job training, in addition to earning several digital skills certificates. After graduating, Michael was hired as a store associate at the Goodwill store in East Brainerd. With the help of Goodwill, he was able to design his work schedule around his classes at Chattanooga State Community College.

“After working with Vocational Rehabilitation, Michael met with me,” says Rachel Inman, Senior Director of Missions Services. “He had some lofty goals for himself. While in the program, Michael had started going to school at Chattanooga State for Culinary Arts, coming to work training regularly and assisting around the house to help with his brothers. He was doing all of this while tackling public transportation. Each goal that he set, he conquered. We look forward to seeing how he thrives in this next phase of his life.”

Michael says his favorite part of working at Goodwill is “being with the people who care about me and helping customers and donors. I was very surprised that I won the award. I couldn’t have done it without the Goodwill team and my friends and family.”

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Burlington's Success

By Lora B • November 24, 2025

Burlington's Success Burlington recently collaborated with Goodwill Opportunity Centers in Chattanooga and Dalton to host a series of hiring events aimed at staffing Burlington store locations, including their new Fort Oglethorpe and Dalton stores. Burlington store managers Forrest Thomasson, Desmond Hubbard, and Carol Kambhampati shared that hosting hiring events with Goodwill proved to be significantly more desirable than holding hiring events at their own stores. “It was such a smooth process. Goodwill Opportunity Center staff members greeted applicants and made them feel welcome, which allowed us to focus on conducting interviews,” said Carol. Attendees were also invited to sign up for Goodwill’s free My Career Advisor online platform, which supports job seekers through every step of their career journey. The platform offers tools and resources for career exploration, resume building, training and education, and access to community resources. The collaboration between Burlington and Goodwill resulted in 132 job placements in our region. “Goodwill Opportunity Centers are a gold mine of a resource,” said Forrest. Desmond added, “I would definitely recommend that other employers reach out to Goodwill for hiring support.” Whether you're a job seeker or an employer in Southeast Tennessee or Northwest Georgia, Goodwill is here to help. Call (423) 629-2501 or visit www.goodwillchatt.org/missionservices.