Correspondent photo / Sean Barron Deborah Duffy and her brother, Gary Vandetti, both of Youngstown, offered personal testimonials regarding how Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries Inc. has helped them through difficult times. The agency held its third annual Mission Breakfast on Thursday at the Tippecanoe Country Club in Canfield.

CANFIELD — Gary Vandetti recalled how his years in school were pockmarked by continual interruptions because of seizures, the result of having developed epilepsy as an infant.

“I had brain surgery at Montreal Neurological Hospital in Quebec,” said Vandetti, of Youngstown.

Despite the seizures that often kept him out of the classroom, he was able to graduate in 1979 from Wilson High School.

Perhaps at least as much as the surgery, however, beginning a holistic relationship with Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries Inc. changed his life for the better, he added.

Vandetti and his sister, Deborah Duffy, also of Youngstown, offered testimonials regarding the assistance and support they have received from the agency over t he years as part of Goodwill’s third annual Mission Breakfast on Thursday morning at the Tippecanoe Country Club, 5870 Tippecanoe Road.

The one-hour program, themed “Unlocking potential. Creating opportunity. Changing lives: A mission for good,” recapped some of Goodwill’s achievements, triumphs and partnerships in 2025, as well as the impact on others’ lives and the Mahoning Valley as a whole.

The agency serves five counties, including Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania, with 10 stores and donation sites, Shelley Murray, chief executive officer, said. She noted that an 11th location is to open this year in East Liverpool.

Since he joined Goodwill in January 1981, Vandetti has worked in several departments and in a variety of positions, a situation that also has made him many friends who see beyond his challenges. On March 2, 1993, Vandetti received a promotion, and currently he enjoys sorting hangers for donated clothing before the items are shipped to various stores throughout the Valley.

“I like to think of my co-workers as one big family,” Vandetti said.

“Our struggles have brought us closer as a family,” Duffy said, adding that her brother also had a major influence on her decision to work with preschool children who have special needs and are considered to be fragile.

Duffy also expressed gratitude regarding having found acceptance for her brother as members of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Youngstown, she continued.

In its ongoing efforts to ensure client success, Goodwill has developed an Assembly for Workforce Solutions, which is a cross-sector collaboration of nearly 30 organizations committed to removing barriers to employment while creating pathways for individuals to thrive and reach their full potential, Murray said in her remarks Thursday.

Along similar lines, Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel announced in January the launch of a WorkOhio initiative, which, in essence, is a simple portal to help someone land and be successful in a job, she explained.

“There has never been a better time to find a job in Ohio,” Tressel said at the time. “Companies are growing in every region of our state and creating jobs in the industries that will shape our future.”

Also last year, the agency revised and revamped its strategic plan via allowing clients to receive needed wrap-around services from partner entities. Murray cited a client who dealt with nearly debilitating anxiety, yet has attained success from having received such services in a collaborative manner.

Another vital community partnership the agency cultivated has been with the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, with each one sharing resources with the other, Murray noted.

In his remarks, HaSheen Wilson, the agency’s board president, told a standing-room-only audience of a few hundred that Goodwill Industries is more than a mere collection of stores and donation locations. Goodwill remains firmly dedicated to breaking barriers so that clients can achieve success, whatever it means to them, Wilson said, adding that a key component of and focus on that goal is “meeting people where they are.”

“I’ve seen the lives of people transformed,” he continued.

Also during the program, Wilson played a video that highlighted Goodwill’s Youngstown Radio Reading Service’s 50th anniversary.

The private, nonprofit YRRS, launched in 1976, is committed to “making information accessible to individuals with visual, physical or mental impairments across eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania” via daily readings from area newspapers, magazines and best-selling books, as well as special interest broadcasts and talk shows, according to Goodwill Industries’ website.

The service expanded in 2019 in an effort to include those who are blind in an effort to make them feel more included, Wilson noted.

For Duffy and Vandetti, however, being part of Goodwill also aligns with what their mother instilled in the two siblings at an early age, Duffy said.

“She taught us to look at everyone the same – what’s inside,” she said, adding, “I have always told every parent I’ve worked with, ‘You are your child’s advocate.'”

Goodwill Industries’ 2025 highlights

• Number of people served through its mission services — 2,768

• Number of volunteers ­– 175

• Children screened for vision issues — 1,387

• Donations collected from the agency’s 10 locations — 175,462

• Customers served throughout the 10 stores — 581,116

• Individuals and families served through voucher program — 3,336

Source: Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries