When Rev. Dr. Edgar J. Helms founded Goodwill Industries® in 1902, he couldn’t have envisioned our reliance on social media, nor the role it would play in educating the public about our mission. Yet, web sites, blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other new media have helped Goodwill® take its social entrepreneurship role to new heights.
Technology — once thought of as cold and impersonal — can actually make Goodwill’s mission more tangible and meaningful to you: our shoppers and donors, business and government partners.
The most dramatic example to date is the launch of the Donate Movement, around which people united for a common cause — protecting the environment through socially conscious donations. Goodwill’s groundbreaking Donation Impact Calculator (donate.goodwill.org) demonstrates the value of donations to the planet and to the people Goodwill serves through critical job training and career services. Another example is the My Story blog at www.goodwill.org/my-story. Through this blog and podcast, actual program participants tell their stories in their own words, conveying the difference Goodwill has made in their lives.
So while the Donation Impact Calculator can show you how much job training your old sweater or bicycle can fund or how many pounds of usable goods are diverted from landfill. My Story lets you see someone who has earned a job or overcome an obstacle that kept him or her from succeeding in the workplace. One of the success stories of local Triad residents includes Jessica, last year’s Michael W. Haley Graduate of the Year Award Winner. As a homeless mother of two young children, Jessica wanted to make a better life for herself and her family. Jessica utilized job training classes, the Network Room for job leads and sought the guidance and encouragement of Goodwill’s career consultants. Now Jessica is working full-time, has a new apartment and is an example to others, especially those that matter most – her children.
For the first week of May, which marks the 60th Anniversary of Goodwill Industries Week, agencies like Goodwill Industries of Central North Carolina, Inc. want to thank you again for the part you play in our history and in our future. Your continued support keeps alive a century-old vision that we all have a role to play in protecting the planet and transforming lives through the power of work.
While a lot of hard work has gone into preparing for the Goodwill Fashion Show, we’ve been lucky enough to have a little bit of fun too. Last week’s model fittings were so much fun and we even caught some of the best moments on video.
If you haven’t purchased your Fashion Show tickets yet, don’t worry there’s still time. You can buy tickets online at www.GoodwillShow.org.
Over the years, Goodwill has come to be known as many things to many people: a donation center to drop off clothes that were too small or too big, a thrift store that provides great merchandise for a reasonable price, or a job training facility for people who need to get back on their feet. And the truth is that Goodwill is all of those things. In fact, Goodwill prides itself on being able to serve the community in many different ways, whether that is by providing a place to give your clothes a second life or by teaching someone how to become self-sufficient through our job training classes.
Riley, age 6, shows her love for Goodwill
It is a constant process to educate the public about all of the different services Goodwill provides to the Triad community. In addition to this blog, Goodwill has also launched sites on other social media networks in order to continue spreading the mission. By creating a presence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr, Goodwill can reach new audiences and continue to spread mission awareness.
You can show your love for Goodwill by following us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/TriadGoodwill) or by becoming our fan on Facebook(http://bit.ly/103Uvs). You can also keep up with what’s been going on at Goodwill by browsing our pictures (www.flickr.com/triadgoodwill) and watching our videos (www.youtube.com/triadgoodwill). We will also be posting useful information and updates on this blog so be sure to bookmark this page and keep checking back.
