Faces of Goodwill | Goodwill of the Berkshires & So. Vermont

Luis's Story

Luis's Story

A Success Story

Meet Luis Ramirez. When referred to Goodwill Services, Luis was interested in building his skills and finding employment with opportunities for growth. He was highly motivated to find work that made him proud. With support from Goodwill and Pittsfield Community Justice Support Center, Luis overcame several obstacles while on his path. Luis worked overnights at Burger King and attended Goodwill programs during the day. His strong dedication to personal growth allowed him to complete several trainings including soft skills, customer service, attitude, ethics, interview preparedness, human rights, and disclosure for persons with justice involvement.

At the completion of his program, Luis was awarded a new interview outfit from Goodwill`s Soar for Success Program. He also received a polished resume, a National Certification for Basic Custodial Technical Course from the ISSA Cleaning Management Institute, and the skills needed to advance his career. In April 2023, Luis obtained a full-time custodial position at Berkshire Health Systems.

Luis`s success was a team effort, Goodwill and Pittsfield Community Justice Support Center provided support and the stepping stones needed for personal growth. Luis achieved his dream after hard work and remaining steadfast in pursuing his goals.

When asked about the support he received from Goodwill and Pittsfield Community Justice Support Center, Luis shared, “Even though I have a bad background, I made the choice to have a better life. I thank god for everyone who supported me and taught me that there was another door to a better life. Keep in mind, there is always people who really care and are willing to help. When you see people like that, don’t turn your back on them, they want to help you.”

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Privacy Policy

What Information Do We Collect? When you visit our website you may provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis and website use information collected on an aggregate basis as you and others browse our website.
Personal Information You Choose to Provide We may request that you voluntarily supply us with personal information, including your email address, postal address, home or work telephone number and other personal information for such purposes as correspondence, placing an order, requesting an estimate, or participating in online surveys. If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses. We provide the same protections for these electronic communications that we employ in the maintenance of information received by mail and telephone.
Website Use Information Similar to other websites, our site may utilize a standard technology called "cookies" (see explanation below, "What Are Cookies?") and web server logs to collect information about how our website is used. Information gathered through cookies and server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our website, and the sites visited just before and just after ours. This information is collected on an aggregate basis. None of this information is associated with you as an individual.
How Do We Use the Information That You Provide to Us? Broadly speaking, we use personal information for purposes of administering our business activities, providing service and support and making available other products and services to our customers and prospective customers. Occasionally, we may also use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our website, new services and special offers we think you will find valuable. The lists used to send you product and service offers are developed and managed under our traditional standards designed to safeguard the security and privacy of all personal information provided by our users. You may at any time to notify us of your desire not to receive these offers.
What Are Cookies? Cookies are a feature of web browser software that allows web servers to recognize the computer used to access a website. Cookies are small pieces of data that are stored by a user's web browser on the user's hard drive. Cookies can remember what information a user accesses on one web page to simplify subsequent interactions with that website by the same user or to use the information to streamline the user's transactions on related web pages. This makes it easier for a user to move from web page to web page and to complete commercial transactions over the Internet. Cookies should make your online experience easier and more personalized.
How Do We Use Information Collected From Cookies? We use website browser software tools such as cookies and web server logs to gather information about our website users' browsing activities, in order to constantly improve our website and better serve our users. This information assists us to design and arrange our web pages in the most user-friendly manner and to continually improve our website to better meet the needs of our users and prospective users. Cookies help us collect important business and technical statistics. The information in the cookies lets us trace the paths followed by users to our website as they move from one page to another. Web server logs allow us to count how many people visit our website and evaluate our website's visitor capacity. We do not use these technologies to capture your individual email address or any personally identifying information about you.
Notice of New Services and Changes Occasionally, we may use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our website, new services and special offers we think you will find valuable. As a user of our website, you will be given the opportunity to notify us of your desire not to receive these offers by clicking on a response box when you receive such an offer or by sending us an email request.
How Do We Secure Information Transmissions? When you send confidential personal information to us on our website, a secure server software which we have licensed encrypts all information you input before it is sent to us. The information is scrambled en route and decoded once it reaches our website. Other email that you may send to us may not be secure unless we advise you that security measures will be in place prior to your transmitting the information. For that reason, we ask that you do not send confidential information such as Social Security, credit card, or account numbers to us through an unsecured email.
How Do We Protect Your Information? Information Security -- We utilize encryption/security software to safeguard the confidentiality of personal information we collect from unauthorized access or disclosure and accidental loss, alteration or destruction. Evaluation of Information Protection Practices -- Periodically, our operations and business practices are reviewed for compliance with organization policies and procedures governing the security, confidentiality and quality of our information. Employee Access, Training and Expectations -- Our organization values, ethical standards, policies and practices are committed to the protection of user information. In general, our business practices limit employee access to confidential information, and limit the use and disclosure of such information to authorized persons, processes and transactions.
How Can You Access and Correct Your Information? You may request access to all your personally identifiable information that we collect online and maintain in our database by emailing us using the contact form provided to you within the site structure of our website.
Do We Disclose Information to Outside Parties? We may provide aggregate information about our customers, sales, website traffic patterns and related website information to our affiliates or reputable third parties, but this information will not include personally identifying data, except as otherwise provided in this privacy policy.
What About Legally Compelled Disclosure of Information? We may disclose information when legally compelled to do so, in other words, when we, in good faith, believe that the law requires it or for the protection of our legal rights.
Permission to Use of Materials The right to download and store or output the materials in our website is granted for the user's personal use only, and materials may not be reproduced in any edited form. Any other reproduction, transmission, performance, display or editing of these materials by any means mechanical or electronic without our express written permission is strictly prohibited. Users wishing to obtain permission to reprint or reproduce any materials appearing on this site may contact us directly.

Terms and Conditions (“Terms”)

Please read these Terms and Conditions (“Terms”, “Terms and Conditions”) carefully before using the Goodwill-Berkshires.org website (the “Service”) operated by Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc.., a Not for Profit 501(c)(3) Corporation (“us”, “we”, or “our”). Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. These Terms apply to all visitors, users and others who access or use the Service. By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the Terms then you may not access the Service.

Financial Donations

By completing the transaction, you agree and understand that: you are making a donation to Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc., a 501(c)(3) Corporation. Your charitable contribution provides the ability for us to continue our work to help community members with barriers to employment through our various training programs and other community services. Your credit card/billing statement will show your donation was made to Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc.

Fees

There are credit card processing fees as well as partner platform fees (if applicable). If you wish to donate through the Service (“Donations”), you may be asked to supply certain information relevant to your Donation including, without limitation, your credit card number, the expiration date of your credit card, your billing address, and your shipping information. You represent and warrant that: (i) you have the legal right to use any credit card(s) or other payment method(s) in connection with any Donation; and that (ii) the information you supply to us is true, correct and complete. By submitting such information, you grant us the right to provide the information to third parties for purposes of facilitating the completion of your Donation. We reserve the right to refuse or cancel your order at any time for certain reasons including but not limited to: service availability, errors in the description of the Donation, error in your order or other reasons. We reserve the right to refuse or cancel your order if fraud or an unauthorized or illegal transaction is suspected.

Availability, Errors and Inaccuracies

We are constantly updating our offerings of services on the Service. The services available on our Service may be described inaccurately, or unavailable, and we may experience delays in updating information on the Service and in our advertising on other web sites. We cannot and do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information, including addresses and services offered. We reserve the right to change or update information and to correct errors, inaccuracies, or omissions at any time without prior notice.

Copyright Policy

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. It is our policy to respond to any claim that Content posted on the Service infringes the copyright or other intellectual property infringement (“Infringement”) of any person. If you are a copyright owner, or authorized on behalf of one, and you believe that the copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement that is taking place through the Service, you must submit your notice in writing to the attention of “Copyright Infringement” of [email address for notification] and include in your notice a detailed description of the alleged Infringement. You may be held accountable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) for misrepresenting that any Content is infringing your copyright.

DMCA Notice

You may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by providing our Copyright Agent with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C 512(c)(3) for further detail): an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright’s interest; a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, including the URL (i.e., web page address) of the location where the copyrighted work exists or a copy of the copyrighted work; identification of the URL or other specific location on the Service where the material that you claim is infringing is located; your address, telephone number, and email address; a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf. You can contact our Copyright Agent via email at info@goodwill-berkshires.org.

Intellectual Property

The Service and its original content (excluding Content provided by users), features and functionality are and will remain the exclusive property of Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc. and its licensors. The Service is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of both the United States and foreign countries. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without the prior written consent of Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc.

Links to Other Web Sites

Our Service may contain links to third-party web sites or services that are not owned or controlled by Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc. Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc. has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third party web sites or services. You further acknowledge and agree that Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc. shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods or services available on or through any such web sites or services. We strongly advise you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policies of any third-party web sites or services that you visit.

Termination

We may terminate or suspend access to our Service immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason whatsoever, including without limitation if you breach the Terms. All provisions of the Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability. We may terminate or suspend your account immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason whatsoever, including without limitation if you breach the Terms. Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease. If you wish to terminate your account, you may simply discontinue using the Service. All provisions of the Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc. and its licensee and licensors, and their employees, contractors, agents, officers and directors, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees), resulting from or arising out of a) your use and access of the Service, by you or any person using your account and password, or b) a breach of these Terms. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc. and its licensee and licensors, and their employees, contractors, agents, officers and directors, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees), resulting from or arising out of a) your use and access of the Service, by you or any person using your account and password; b) a breach of these Terms, or c) Content posted on the Service.

Limitation of Liability

In no event shall Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc., nor its directors, employees, partners, agents, suppliers, or affiliates, be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, including without limitation, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from (i) your access to or use of or inability to access or use the Service; (ii) any conduct or content of any third party on the Service; (iii) any content obtained from the Service; and (iv) unauthorized access, use or alteration of your transmissions or content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence) or any other legal theory, whether or not we have been informed of the possibility of such damage, and even if a remedy set forth herein is found to have failed of its essential purpose.

Disclaimer

Your use of the Service is at your sole risk. The Service is provided on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. The Service is provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement or course of performance. Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc.its subsidiaries, affiliates, and its licensors do not warrant that a) the Service will function uninterrupted, secure or available at any particular time or location; b) any errors or defects will be corrected; c) the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components; or d) the results of using the Service will meet your requirements.

Exclusions

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the limitations above may not apply to you.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Massachusetts, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court, the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in effect. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between us regarding our Service and supersede and replace any prior agreements we might have between us regarding the Service.

Changes

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material, we will try to provide at least 30 days’ notice prior to any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion. By continuing to access or use our Service after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. If you do not agree to the new terms, please stop using the Service.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this site, please contact us at: info@goodwill-berkshires.org or Goodwill Industries of The Berkshires and Southern Vermont, Inc. 158 Tyler Street Pittsfield, MA 01201 Phone: (413) 442-0061 This document was last updated on 11/13/19.