In 2012, Goodwill Industries International, backed by a national grant from the Walmart Foundation, launched Operation: GoodJobs in Tacoma, Austin and Houston. Since then, the program has expanded to 12 locations around the nation, all of which have high veteran populations.

Operation: GoodJobs focuses primarily on post-911 veterans and their families, including spouses and dependents that are old enough to work. To be in the program, veterans cannot have a dishonorable discharge and must be motivated to find employment.

"The program has grown so much in the last six months alone, I hope it continues to expand," said Mike Tassin, Veterans Services Manager for Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region and the program's champion.

Tacoma was recently named a faculty site and representatives from other Goodwill locations have been visiting Tassin's office to learn how to build their own GoodJobs programs.

A huge component of the GoodJobs program is mentoring. Mentoring services range from resumé writing and interview skills workshops to training and skills assessment. GoodJobs also provides veteran job seekers with a chance to network with the business community. Furthermore, veterans enrolled in the program have access to counseling services, financial education and individual case management. They can also take practical online classes through an affiliation with Bates Technical College and earn college credits.

There are currently about 16 mentors and 25 mentees in the program, even though it was only launched officially at the end of February.

"Every month we sponsor a large scale event to bring all of the mentors and mentees together in addition to their own meetings throughout the month," said Tassin, who served in the Army for eight years. "The idea is to keep them engaged and give them a social life. To help them learn how to network."

All of the services offered by Goodwill and through Operation: GoodJobs are free. Tassin has received funding from various sources, including the Boeing Foundation, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and the Wounded Warrior Project. Most notable, however, is the community store partnership with Starbucks.

"This is one of the largest honors for us," Tassin said. "They approached us and wanted us to be a part of their community stores effort. The goal was to have some of those partnerships be military focused and we were the first one to be asked in the world."

In addition to allowing GoodJobs to utilize the store for meetings and trainings, the partnership with the coffee giant is paying off; 10¢ from every purchase at the store located at 10314 S. Tacoma Way in Lakewood is donated to GoodJobs. Although that portion of the funding just began in November, it has already made a big difference in operations.

With the extra funding, Tassin has been able to bring more people on staff and increase how many veterans they can serve. In fact, he has hired four additional employees, including a part-time social media guru. GoodJobs will also begin receiving interns from the University of Washington Tacoma Campus.

"We can offer more intense, one-on-one case management and have a wider reach to recruit new veterans into the program," he said.

GoodJobs has served over 350 people in the last 15 months and according to Tassin's projections, they will serve 700 this year. That number only pales in comparison to the 9,000 individuals that Tacoma Goodwill, including its Yakima and Longview sites, served in 2013. However, as of now, the veteran services are only available in Pierce, Thurston and south King counties.

"This is not a social project. We are veterans and veteran families and we want to help them get into a new career," Tassin stated. "We are here to support them. We will not get them a job and then disappear. We work with them for the first year because the odds of being successful long-term increase once they have been employed a year."

There are two simple ways to get involved. Orientations happen weekly at 9 a.m. on Friday at the Goodwill office, 714 S. 27th St. in Tacoma, and then every Friday at 2 p.m. at the Starbucks on Hwy 512.

"That is the starting point. You can learn about our program online, but the easiest way is to just show up," Tassin said.

The Starbucks Career & Resource Day, sponsored by Goodwill Veteran Services, will take place from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 26 at the Goodwill Reach Center in Tacoma. Attendees can learn about Starbucks' job opportunities - from office jobs to entire brand representation, not just baristas - from veterans who already work for the company. They can also participate in mock interviews and learn how to tailor a resumé for work in the coffee industry. Those who pre-register by calling 253.573.6789 will receive a free cup of coffee.

To keep updated, like GoodJobs on Facebook (www.facebook.com/OperationGoodJobs) and follow them on Twitter (@OpGoodJobs).