Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut has announced the winners of the agency’s annual achievement awards. The presentations will take place at the Annual Achievement Awards Luncheon to be held at 12 noon on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at the Trumbull Marriott on 180 Hawley Lane. Graduate, Achiever, Employer and Community Partner awards will be presented.

The Goodwill Graduate Award honors individuals with disabilities or other special needs who have completed a Goodwill program and have demonstrated outstanding achievement in attaining competitive employment in the community. The recipients of the Goodwill Graduate Award this year are Charles Barr of Stratford and Joshua Correa of Bridgeport. With help from Goodwill, Charles Barr learned job-seeking and workplace skills that helped him obtain employment in a restaurant. After enrolling in Goodwill’s Retail Training program, Joshua Correa earned his certification from the National Retail Federation Foundation and obtained employment at GameStop.

The Goodwill Achiever Award honors individuals with disabilities or other barriers to employment who, while not yet having attained a competitive job in the community, have shown great progress and accomplishment in overcoming barriers to employment while working toward their career goals. This year, the recipients of the Goodwill Achiever Award are Julia Howell of Manchester, Christopher Hebert of Waterbury and Raphael Dormevil of Bridgeport.

Julia Howell has a form of diabetes so severe, it caused her to have four strokes, the first one in early childhood. Medical complications caused her to spend a good portion of her young adulthood in an institution. Referred to Goodwill in April of 2011, Julia has made tremendous progress during the past year. With the support of Goodwill staff, she maintains her own apartment and has rejoined her family in the community. Despite his struggle with both an acquired brain injury and terminal cancer, Christopher Hebert has become more independent with Goodwill’s assistance and is determined to find employment. Raphael Dormevil has used Goodwill’s services to help him cope with the effects of a severe brain injury that hospitalized him for a year. He maintains employment with Goodwill at a light assembler and has increased his productivity.

The Employer of the Year Award will be presented to Glastonbury High School. The school cafeteria employs Goodwill workers on a regular basis and the partnership dates back to 2005. Community Partner Awards will go to Meals on Wheels of Hartford and Jolen Inc. of Fairfield. For over 15 years Meals on Wheels has been working with Goodwill to provide a community activity for individuals with severe disabilities. Jolen provides light assembly work to Goodwill’s Transitional Employment program.

Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut  is a non-profit organization that has provided support services to people with disabilities and other barriers to employment since 1951. In the years that followed, the organization blossomed into a multifaceted agency serving thousands of individuals in Connecticut each year. The Annual Goodwill Awards Luncheon, attended by the Goodwill board of directors, staff members, representatives of state and local social organizations and other community leaders,  recognizes Goodwill award winners and honors major monetary contributors.