During the month of January, the Port Huron, Michigan campus of Ross Medical Education Center had the opportunity to serve as a community drop-off location for donations being made to Goodwill Industries of St. Clair County. This was the first time the campus partnered with Goodwill, and it was a great success! Goodwill Industries provided two large, wheeled bins for individuals to fill with gently used clothing and household items that were no longer of use to them. When the bins were filled, Goodwill workers exchanged them for empty bins. It was rewarding to watch the donations come in consistently throughout the entire month, and the campus was proud to fill seven bins with donations during the drive!
The donation drive at the Port Huron campus gave everyone an opportunity to clean out their closets and donate to a worthy organization at the same time. Stacey Clark, Assistant Campus Director of Education, was happy to participate in the donation drive, “I was able to start my spring cleaning early to the benefit of the Goodwill organization that uses more than 87% of its collective revenue from donated items to support and grow community-based programs and services. It’s a win-win solution.”
Goodwill Industries was founded in 1902 with the idea of giving those in need “a hand up, not a hand out.” Each location provides services unique to their geographic location and population. Services provided range from career placement assistance, vocational training, education assistance and support, financial planning, language and translation services, medical rehabilitation, physical and occupational therapy, and many more.
With the belief that work helps build self-confidence and provides friendships and independence, Goodwill provides employment opportunities for people with disabilities within their donation centers and stores. They also contract with businesses and government agencies to provide services such as packaging, assembly, document management, food services, custodial work, and groundskeeping. A vast majority of the revenue generated through the Goodwill stores and the services they provide goes directly back into the organization to fund the many programs they offer.
Donors are vital to the success of the organization. Goodwill workers sort, clean and repair the donations which are then sold in over 3,000 Goodwill stores nationwide and at their online auction site shopgoodwill.com. Items that are not sold are moved to Goodwill Outlets or Clearance Centers where they are sold at a very low cost. From there, items are packaged in large bins and are often sold to textile recyclers to be converted to rags. Only about 5% of donated items make it to landfills.
For more information about this outstanding organization, visit their national website at goodwill.org.