Public Service Announcement

Let me educate you a little about an organization I have recently learned a lot more about – Goodwill.

First of all, in our area, they are primarily known for their stores and donation centers.  However, few people understand their primary mission, helping disadvantanged people get job skills.  This really appeals to me because I see it being the ultimate answer to breaking the current welfare system.  People learn to work in a production system, in retail systems and many other work environments.  One example is a guy who worked in a litter and landscaping crew.  He went on to work at a private university as a groundskeeper.  Now this university allows employee’s families to go to school for free/great reduced tution.  The ability to get the job didn’t just change his direction but has the potential to change his family for generations to come.  This is how people can get off of welfare!

The second thing I don’t think enough people know about Goodwill is that most donations are used.  If they aren’t able to be sold in the retail centers, they can be turned into salvage which are sold to recyclers or to foreign countries.  This means very little ends up in the landfills.  For example, all of those socks kids outgrow can be recycled into rags or rugs or other items!  Almost any textile items can be recycled.  This is tremendous.  Goodwill was a green company before green was cool!

I admit, I used to have a bad attitude towards Goodwill.  My uncle was brain damaged as a child and I remember my grandmother ranting about Goodwill hiring people like him for less than minimum wage and using them as a type of slave labor.  Not all Goodwills hire at less than minimum wage and certainly it is not a slave wage labor force, but I did carry that thought around for too long. 

Different Goodwills run their centers differently.  I know of some that are getting into e-recycling, and are giving second life to computer parts for a greatly discounted amounts.  Various types of e-commerce are springing up constantly. 

So when you are cleaning out those closets and garages, give more to your local Goodwill instead of throwing it away.  You would be surprised at how letting them recycling what seems like trash could be instead changing lives of people.