Goodwill helps employee to continue helping others

STAFF REPORTS
·1 min read
Danyika Gilbert was gifted a 2010 Toyota Prius on Thursday so she can continue doing her work at Goodwill in Lexington.
Danyika Gilbert was gifted a 2010 Toyota Prius on Thursday so she can continue doing her work at Goodwill in Lexington.

One employee of Goodwill in Lexington benefitted this week from the work she’s done for others.

Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee provided a car at no cost Danyika Gilbert through its Wheels-to-Work program at its store in Lexington.

The nonprofit established the program in 2013 to help employees who need reliable transportation to get to work.

Gilbert began working for Good will in 2016 when she needed flexible hours because several of her four children were still in school, and she was taking online classes to earn her associate’s degree in accounting.

Danyika Gilbert, a five-year team member at Goodwill's store in Lexington, right, gives a hug to Leisa Wamsley, Goodwill's Vice President of Donated Goods, after Wamsley presented her with the keys to a used but reliable 2010 Toyota Prius in a Wheels-to-Work Program ceremony held Tuesday at the store. The program helps deserving team members who struggle with a lack of transportation.

Gilbert had primarily been a stay-at-home mom since having her first child at age 16. Almost three decades later, she was determined to launch a career.

In the meantime, she needed a job to help make ends meet. It turned out that she enjoyed working at Goodwill.

She started as a donations processor at Goodwill’s Lexington store and received two promotions, becoming first an office administrator and then a shift leader. She even graduated from a leadership development program for promising employees.

Danyika Gilbert, a shift leader at the Lexington Goodwill store, smiles as she sits for the first time in the driver's seat of a 2010 Toyota Prius she was given Thursday. The donated car was given to her at no cost through the nonprofit's organization's Wheels-to-Work program, which helps deserving team members to overcome the barrier of transportation.

Gilbert’s next goal is to become an assistant manager, and reliable transportation is needed for that. She acquired several old cars over the years, but they broke down. Each time she would have to rely on friends or coworkers for rides. She is currently borrowing a vehicle from a friend.

That ended on Thursday when Goodwill gave her a 2010 Toyota Prius that was low-mileage and clean.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Goodwill helps employee to continue helping others