The History of Goodwill

In July, I’ll be celebrating my 20^th anniversary working for Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley (GESMV)! To commemorate my personal milestone, and to provide some clarification on how our organization began, I thought I would share a brief history of Goodwill with you.

Goodwill Industries was founded by Edgar J. Helms. As a Methodist reverend, Edgar started a business called Morgan Memorial in Boston, Massachusetts in 1902. His business mission was to collect gently used clothing and home goods from the wealthier parts of the city that were no longer wanted to help create a job training program. Instead of just offering handouts, Edgar wanted to provide a long-term solution—a “hand up, not a handout.” After the items were collected, Mr. Helms trained and hired individuals facing poverty to clean and repair the donated items. Once items were repaired, they were either kept by the trainees or redistributed to others in need.

Edgar saw that his mission was working, and he wanted to share his mission model with others. He sent some of his staff to visit a Brooklyn workshop to see how they were running things. When they reported their findings, Edgar decided to visit the facility himself. He loved what he saw, and after meetings with the leadership of the Brooklyn facility, they agreed that they shared the Morgan Memorial philosophy. This partnership is what inspired the name “Goodwill” to be adopted as the organization’s name.

Today, Goodwill Industries International exists in 12 countries, with 150+ Community-based, autonomous organizations across the U.S. and Canada (GESMV is one of them). Altogether, they operate about 3,400 retail and outlet stores that continue the same mission of supporting training and other services that help people become more independent and have a higher quality of life.

At GESMV, your local Goodwill agency, we continue to offer job readiness training to people of every ability and background. We’ve also expanded far beyond that to include day services for seniors and individuals with disabilities, counseling and case management, child screenings, specialty services for the visually impaired, and more! Check out www.gesmv.org to learn more. I think our services might surprise you!

Nineteen years ago, I was a young Shari fresh out of college who had dreams of working so I could live life to my full potential. So often people are just looking for an opportunity to work and prove themselves. Most people don’t want to be given something because the reward is much better when you work hard and earn it for yourself.

Thanks to Goodwill, I’m now a little older Shari who works as your blogger-in-chief and living a fabulous life! Thank you, Goodwill, for offering me a hand up! I’ll keep your mission in mind while on my journey to make sure I offer a hand to assist others.