Editor’s note: The San Antonio Report is pleased to feature the weekly bigcitysmalltown podcast hosted by Robert Rivard, co-founder of the Report. We’ll be publishing a brief synopsis of the podcast each Tuesday.

Many Americans know Goodwill as the store where you can find secondhand clothing and housewares, but far fewer are aware that Goodwill and its more than 161 affiliates across the U.S. play a critical role in workforce development and combating generational poverty.

Goodwill San Antonio provides youth services and digital literacy training, is a major second-chance employer for people who have been incarcerated and has contracts with local military bases. It also operates several academy programs, which annually graduate 300 to 400 people ready to work in medical fields and commercial driving.

President and CEO Carlos Contreras, a former San Antonio assistant city manager, wants to more than double that number in the coming years, he told bigcitysmalltown podcast host Robert Rivard.

The key elements to Goodwill graduates’ success has been the supportive financial services — assistance with housing, food, transportation and other necessities — that Goodwill provides students. And a lot of patience helps, Contreras said.

Each person has their own story and set of traumas, he said. But the support they get through the academy means “they are ready to work” when they graduate.

In the podcast, Contreras discusses the history of Goodwill, which was founded by a pastor in Boston, his own career path and the broader mission of the nonprofit to help lift the working poor into financial stability.

Visit bigcitysmalltown to listen to Episode 38 with Goodwill San Antonio CEO Carlos Contreras, or click here to listen now. 

Originally published on January 16, 2024 by the  San Antonio Report