By the numbers:
23 — Counties Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley serves
26 — Retail stores the organization operates
20,208 — Total people served in various programs throughout the region in 2015
Source: Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley
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Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley has closed its workforce development office on Olympic Street in Springfield, citing a change in its service model and little need for a physical office, officials from the organization said.
The move will not include layoffs, and customers from Springfield will still be able to be served in locations that are convenient for them or through the organization’s Dayton campus, said Melissa Fowler, public relations manager for Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley.
Easter Seals workforce development offices provide assistance to clients to help them learn basic job skills to enter the workforce, or return to work after an illness or injury. The organization has served 23 people in Clark County this year, Fowler said Friday.
About two people worked in the Springfield office, and three to five people work with clients in the Springfield area, she said. Clients are often referred to the organization through the state workforce development agencies, she said.
The Springfield office, located at 2215 Olympic St., was already closed Thursday, Fowler said. She said the organization has switched its service model in recent years so that staff members typically work with clients to find a meeting location that is convenient for the client.
“The service model had really moved to where we were actually going to see people in the community, so having that office didn’t make sense for us anymore and that’s why we chose to close it,” Fowler said.
Statewide, Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley provided a variety of services to more than 20,200 people across 23 counties in Ohio last year, according to information from the organization. Goodwill Easter Seals also operates 26 retail stores across the region.
“It’s a lot of field work,” Fowler said. “The office was more or less a place for our staff to be able to do paperwork or file from.”
Residents in Springfield who are seeking employment placement and training services can still call the organization’s offices in Dayton, said Mark Miller, senior manager, in a press release announcing the office’s closing.
“As we are increasingly serving our clients in alternate locations throughout the community where people feel more comfortable, it makes sense to no longer have a central location in Springfield,” Miller said. “We’re still providing the same job skills training, and we encourage residents to call us and set up an appointment.”
Residents seeking workforce and employment placement or training services are asked to call 937-461-4800, according to information from the organization.
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