Goodwill good for the environment and good for people

 4/19/2017

 

By Nancy Webster
Director of Community Relations, Goodwill Industries of Tulsa

Every year, people clean out their closets and homes to start fresh for the spring season. This Earth Day, Goodwill Industries of Tulsa is encouraging people to live more sustainable lifestyles and help people in their local communities find jobs. In addition, people can shop Goodwill stores and save while collectively diverting thousands of pounds of items from landfills impacting environmental sustainability. By shopping at and donating to Goodwill, you can help people find employment, and build their work skills.

Goodwill’s donation-resale model extends the life of clothing and other goods, and earns revenue for Goodwill job training programs, employment placement services and other important social services, such as GED classes, financial education, support services and more. Donating to Goodwill is a simple way to begin living more sustainably.

“Revenue raised through the sale of donated goods creates employment opportunities and important social services to help transform someone’s life. This is all done through the simple act of cleaning out a closet,” said Nancy Webster, Director of Community Relations at Goodwill Industries of Tulsa. “Making a commitment to reduce, reuse and repurpose this Earth Day is as simple as heading to the nearest Goodwill store or donation center.”

Every donation to your local Goodwill provides on-site classroom training, access to computers for job search assistance, employment placement job training and other community-based services such as career counseling, and résumé preparation for anyone facing challenges to finding employment. Last year, more than 1,200 people connected with jobs or earned employment using Goodwill Industries of Tulsa’s career services programs.

Goodwill Industries of Tulsa provides work opportunities, job training and support training for people with disabilities and other employment barriers.

This article first ran in the Tulsa World as a Letter to the Editor on Sunday, April 16, 2017.