Pedro Gonzalez was looking for a job when he got a call from the Refugee Federation Services Center to come to Tacoma Goodwill. Born in Guatemala, and with a wife and three children, Pedro was simply looking for a way to support his family. “I went almost four months without having a job, no paycheck, no nothing,” he said. “It was tough.” Pedro completed Goodwill’s Custodial Training program, a state-certified course using classroom and practical applications to teach everything from equipment care to effective use of cleaning compounds. More than 100 people took the class in 2008. Now Pedro’s a custodian at Tacoma Goodwill’s flagship 38th Street Store in Tacoma and taking classes in English as a Second Language.

Goodwill’s partnership with the Refugee Federation has completed its first year, providing expanded services for people in need. “Tacoma Goodwill has excellent programs and we have the specialized knowledge of working with cultural and refugee issues,” said Tung Thanh Nguyen, with the center at the start of the partnership. Pedro puts it simply: “goodwill cares about people.”