Our goal is to provide both the practical need of legal employment and the benefit of having a first line on a resume. Students are integrated as team members, emphasizing personal accountability and the impact of their actions on their peers. Within our workshop and retail space, we cultivate a safe and supportive work environment conducive to learning, skill development, and guidance toward prospective career paths for students within LCISD. The Mercy Goods retail space serves as a platform to market custom furniture, home accessories, and socially conscious products. Moreover, it serves as a venue for other local social enterprise ventures and artisans to exhibit and sell their merchandise.

Our purpose is to provide students with spaces and opportunities for workforce development which helps develop skills essential for their future. Through hands-on work, we aim to cultivate problem-solving abilities and attention to detail in our students. By setting high standards, we encourage our workers to build confidence and take pride in their accomplishments. We emphasize real-world applications by involving students in the entire process when we receive a custom furniture order. This involvement ranges from visiting job sites to measure spaces, estimating project costs, purchasing materials, to providing customer service.

At-risk youth facing tough situations are more likely to stay in school and perform better academically when they have strong, meaningful connections with adults. Employment and job training play a crucial role in fostering these mentoring relationships where real change occurs. Each employee will be matched with a mentor who dedicates one-on-one time every two weeks. Our aim is to cultivate a supportive and friendly environment that goes beyond mere programs, activities, or paychecks. Through these relationships, we encourage our students to envision their futures differently and provide practical steps to help them achieve their maximum potential. These mentor-mentee connections are established through strategic collaborations with nonprofits, churches, local leaders, and other businesses within the community.

In 2019, Mercy Goods launched an initiative to support pregnant and parenting teens in Lamar CISD. The Teen Mom Nights aim to engage, empower, and assist young parents on their path to financial independence by fostering skill development and creating opportunities for future employment. During the event, participants learn to craft marketable products like jewelry or candles and receive a kit to continue making these items at home. They can then sell their creations at the Mercy Goods storefront. Through collaboration with the LCISD Activities Supporting Adolescent Parenting (ASAP) Program, generous donors, local small-business owners, and volunteers, Teen Mom Nights are now held bi-monthly.