Goodwill

Teddy Patrick

“We are truly blessed.”

Teddy Patrick of Vancouver, Washington is one of the most thankful people you will probably find anywhere.  He smiles wide when asked to talk about Gary Van Allen for Goodwill Job Connection.  “When Gary stretched his hand to meet me,” says Teddy, “it wasn’t out of politeness – it was from his heart.  It was true outreach.”

The 60-year-old single father of three came to Goodwill after seeing a Goodwill ad in The Columbian newspaper. He had been unemployed for four months, with no job leads in sight.

From 1998 to February 2002 Teddy had been happy with his job with UPS.  But another job offer which involved helping people and better pay wooed him away from UPS.  Instead of the career of his dreams, he was duped by a greedy con artist whose scam left Teddy living in his car having to resort to his church for handouts.                       

Teddy’s life changed Goodwill Job Connection helped him find and secure a part-time job with Costco in Portland. Teddy’s supervisor, Costco Manager Sunny Kay, offers only words of praise to describe his employee. “He’s extremely hard working. Teddy is always willing to do whatever you need done,” says Kay, “he is so positive and gives 110%."