PRESS RELEASE: Goodwill Honors Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas

NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT: Nordia Epps
1817 Campbell St., Kansas City, MO 64108
816-213-3235, nepps@mokangoodwill.org
www.mokangoodwill.org
Goodwill Honors Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City with
2015 Power of Work Award
Local Individual, Family, Employee and Volunteers Also Recognized.
Kansas City, MO – Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City goes above and beyond to hire and support
local job seekers with barriers to employment earning the company the Goodwill 2015 Power of Work
Community Award. Ameristar will be honored at this year’s Power of Work Awards luncheon
Thursday April 16 at Grand Street Café, 4740 Grand Ave. from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. A local
individual, family, Goodwill employee and Goodwill volunteers will also be recognized. We would be
happy to arrange interviews with the winners before, during or after the luncheon.
Ameristar rose to the top of the list of nominees for the Community Award, presented to a local
company that goes the extra mile to assist job seekers in eradicating barriers to sustainable
employment. The business works closely with Goodwill and other local organizations to prepare, hire,
train, coach and retain individuals with barriers such as a mental or physical disability, limited work
experience or minimal education.
“Community partners like Ameristar make it possible for us to take our mission to its fullest
conclusion,” said Stefany Williams, president and CEO of Goodwill of Western Missouri & Eastern
Kansas. “We are impressed with their dedication for the complete integration of their workforce with
people with barriers to employment and excited to honor them for their efforts.”
The Goodwill Power of Work Awards also recognizes an individual who completed a Goodwill
program and reached milestones once thought unattainable. This year, Ebony Smallwood earned that
honor. A young, single mom, Smallwood teamed up with Goodwill and partner agencies to gain
support and skills that landed her employment as a call center representative.
Loy Turner earned this year’s Family Award which goes to a family whose lives have been
transformed from the partnership with Goodwill. Turner is a dependable, hard working person who
needed a chance to show the value he could bring to a business. With help from Goodwill, he earned
steady employment and a regular paycheck allowing him to fulfill his obligations as a father and spend
time with his children.
This is the Fourth Annual Goodwill Power of Work Awards. In 2013, nearly 1650 local
individuals with barriers to employment either obtained a job or accessed services and resources
through Goodwill’s programs.
Goodwill of Western Missouri & Eastern Kansas is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit agency whose mission
is to strengthen individuals, families and communities in need through the Power of Work.
Ninety-cents of every dollar Goodwill spends empower local job seekers with barriers to
employment to find and keep work. Goodwill has a history of 120 years of service in Kansas
City. The first Goodwill store opened in 1925. The agency now has 17 stores with additional
donation sites and GoodWORKS employment service centers. In 2013 more than 1,411,000
individuals shopped in its stores and nearly 511,000 donated their unwanted items. Learn more
at www.mokangoodwill.org. To see all the good we do together, follow us on facebook, google +,
twitter, linkedin, pinterest, instagram and youtube.
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