Goodwill’s Community Access Foundation Track (CAFT) is a training program that can support individuals in reaching their goals of community employment and connection. This training is provided through community exploration with tours, volunteering and guest speakers. Additionally, classroom instruction and hands-on skill practice is also utilized.
A capstone event is a presentation held at the end of the 10-week curriculum unit. This presentation is to showcase the skills these individuals learned while working through the curriculum unit. There are typically five throughout the year.
CAFT individuals worked very hard to put on the spectacular “Make It, Take It Wellness Fair” capstone event on October 16 at the James O. Wright Center for Work and Training. Ten weeks prior, 11 individuals in CAFT worked tirelessly on the Retail curriculum unit. These individuals expressed interest in Retail and the training gave them real world exposure to a career in this field.
To start off the Retail Curriculum training, the Community Skills Instructor introduced the curriculum through power point presentations to set the basic community training. The power point covered key vocabulary such as stocking, merchandise and inventory. The curriculum also covered customer service, money handling, inventory and calculating profit margin. This helped lay the foundation for the community-based training experiences.
Additionally, as a part of their training and preparation for the capstone, CAFT individuals participated in scavenger hunts at unique retail stores such as Cabela’s and the Milwaukee Public Market to provide first hand observations of what it all takes to run a retail operation. CAFT individuals also went on a tour at the Amazon warehouse in Pleasant Prairie to get a behind the scenes look at how goods are shipped to consumers.
As the capstone approached, CAFT individuals amped up their groundwork ahead of the event. They begin making lip balms, bath bombs and hand lotions from scratch. They researched recipes and techniques to make these goods to sell at their capstone store. While making the goods, they tracked how many items they were making to determine their profit margin.
The “Make It, Take It Wellness Fair” was a complete success and they sold over $100 in goods! The CAFT individuals' training really shined through. They managed the wellness fair with tremendous confidence as they performed great customer service to the guests who came through to purchase great products. We look forward to our next capstone event!
Be sure to view our video to see even more of the event!
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