Stamford Resident Receives Goodwill Achiever Award

Around the office of Goodwill's Transitional Employment Program in Stamford, Christopher Maynard is known as a leader, an optimist, and a friend — the person that everyone can turn to for a kind word or a helping hand.

Next week, Maynard's spirit and determination will be honored when he receives the Goodwill Achiever Award in recognition of  his progress in overcoming obstacles to reach his goals. Pedro deSousa, Program Manager at Goodwill Industries of Western Connecticut, Inc, has seen these traits as he has supervised Maynard's work over the past several years.

"The one thing that has always stuck out to me about Chris is that he's a positive person, the big brother of the group," deSousa told Patch. "I've never heard him say that he can't do something."

Maynard was competitively employed as a dishwasher at a hotel when a cancerous tumor was discovered on his spine  — surgery left him paralyzed from the waist down. He has been working at Goodwill since September 2004.

Maynard performs mainly piece work for Goodwill, but also handles some custodial work. When the woman who had been in charge of attendance for the group left the office, Maynard was quick to pick up that responsibility too.

"He's always the one to step in when there are new jobs," deSousa said. "He's just a hard worker, ready to take on anything."

Among the other consumers at Goodwill, a group that is as much a small family as a group of coworkers, Maynard is a constant source of support, the person willing to do anything to help make others' lives a little bit better.

“We have a consumer here and I don’t know why, but he refused to bring in lunch — one day I saw him eating a sandwich,” deSousa said.

“I’m the one who brought it for him,” Maynard said with a smile.

“Now he’s been bringing him lunch for over a year,” deSousa said. “Every day he brings in two sandwiches.”

“One day I’d like to see him bring his own lunch, but he never does,” Maynard added.

For deSousa, that story is the perfect illustration of  Maynard's character, willing to give someone the metaphoric shirt-off-his-back or the literal sandwich-out-of-his-lunch.

“A guy who does that much good for other people…that deserves recognition,” deSousa said. "I'm so happy for him."

Maynard and several family members will attend the Annual Goodwill Awards Luncheon in Trumbull next Tuesday where he will accept his award. The Annual Goodwill Awards Luncheon recognizes Goodwill award winners and honors major monetary contributors and volunteers. It is attended by the Goodwill board of directors, members, representatives of state and local social organizations and other community leaders.