Goodwill Names Holmes-Chambers Community Solutions Director
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries Inc. has announced Carol Holmes-Chambers as the organization’s new community solutions director.
In this role, Holmes-Chambers will oversee the implementation of key initiatives derived from Goodwill’s recent Community Needs Assessment in partnership with the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber. She will manage the next steps of the Community Needs Assessment, which aims to address employment challenges in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys.
Her responsibilities include facilitating collaboration among stakeholders, coordinating committees and ensuring that the outcomes create sustainable change.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to work alongside the community with people just as passionate about making a positive difference in our Valley,” she said. “There is tremendous power in the collaboration of people united toward a common goal that transcends individual interests. I’m eager to see which mountains we can move.”
Holmes-Chambers brings extensive experience in community engagement and leadership to Goodwill. Most recently, she served as the director of school and community wellness for the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board. Her dedication to addressing challenges through a holistic and people-centered approach is evident in her leadership of the Trumbull-Mahoning RISE Community Collaborative, a coalition she co-developed as part of the Health Equity and Cultural Competence Plan.
“We are excited to welcome Carol to the Goodwill team and our shared vision of creating meaningful impact in the community,” Goodwill CEO Shelley Murray said. “Her passion, expertise and dedication make her the perfect fit for this critical role and will be key in advancing our mission to empower individuals and strengthen our community by building on the groundwork already in place for change.”
On Monday, the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber announced a $50,000 grant from the PNC Foundation as part of the Community Needs Assessment effort. Other grants to Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries for this critical work include funds from The Youngstown Foundation, Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation and Western Reserve Health Foundation.
The Regional Chamber and Goodwill will create teams of community and government leaders, employers and others in a collaborative call-to-action to remove these barriers and increase workforce participation through a unified approach rooted in the creation of goals and objectives, as well as a measure for success in long-term planning efforts and advancement.
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