A PROUD HISTORY OF PROVIDING
“A HAND UP, NOT A HAND OUT”
|
|
In 1902 Edgar J. Helms,
a Boston minister, conceived the idea of collecting unwanted household
goods and employing jobless men and women to refurbish them. Income from
the resold goods paid the workers’ wages.
The system worked and the
Goodwill method of self-help was born.
“Giving a chance, not charity”
Today Reverend Helms’ philosophy
flourishes among more than 200 independent Goodwills in the U.S., Canada,
and 22 other countries.
As the movement spread during Goodwill’s first
century, it became the world’s largest network of privately operated
vocational rehabilitation and employment organizations. More than six
million people have come through Goodwill’s doors to transform their lives
and build independence.
|
 |
|
National watchdog groups and publications
including Smart Money consistently give Goodwill Industries high
ratings for the prudent and innovative use of funds.
Goodwill Comes to the Inland Northwest
Gradually the Goodwill network extended further west. In 1938 a local
minister in Rockford was asked to lead plans for establishing a Goodwill
in Spokane.
|
From Reverend Estabrook’s files:
Some weeks later I was informed that I had been appointed
Superintendent
of Goodwill Industries of Spokane, but as yet no such institution
existed
except on paper. I wondered how I could be Superintendent of an
institution that did not exist, but that my job was
to start a Goodwill
with no
money, no merchandise, and no workers.
I was told, “You have your
foot in it now, just keep on stepping."
|
|
Top of page
1939
What is now Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest opened the doors
of its first store in a former church building at Third and Cowley in
December---with $43 in debt, two helpers, and the Superintendent. All of
them worked for six months without pay. Having no truck, Rev. Estabrook
gathered donations from neighborhoods in an old sedan with a cutout back.
1945
A
new downtown Spokane headquarters opened. After it burned, funds from the
community were raised to replace it.
|
|
1950s
Like most Goodwills
around the country, Spokane Goodwill was a sheltered workshop, employing
people with disabilities to clean and repair donated goods. Equipment for
an upholstery shop and a carpentry shop was purchased or donated.
In 1957
Goodwill began working with the Washington Division of Vocational
Rehabilitation. The first training program began with the hiring
of instructors in shoe repair, upholstery, and small appliance repair.
By 1959 more modern, heated workshops were added to the main downtown
Spokane building, creating shops for processing different types of
goods, from textiles to electrical, and for refinishing hard goods and
repairing appliances.
|
|
1960s
Goodwill established a
formal Rehabilitation Department and set up a Work Evaluation
Center for assessing new trainees. The Veterans Administration accepted
Goodwill as a rehabilitation center, work evaluation station, and
work-training organization.
In the 1960s Goodwill began building and locating collection boxes in
neighborhoods. These evolved into our Attended Donation Centers
(ADCs). (For today’s locations of ADCs, please see “Donating to
Goodwill.”)
In 1964 Goodwill entered its first contract to assemble products for a
manufacturing firm, a burglar alarm maker. The new Contract Shop
enabled Goodwill to hire more people with severe disabilities.
A new fleet of trucks was purchased in 1968. The trucks were driven from
Detroit to Spokane.
Top of page
|
|
1970s
During this period of
expansion, the downtown facility added a new conveyor belt, expanded the
dock area, added new rehabilitation and human resource offices, and
began renovation of the plant. |
|
1980s
A major
shift took place when Bobbi Johnson came to what was then known as
Inland Empire Goodwill Industries. After accepting an interim, six-month
assignment, she became President and CEO in 1982---a position she
still holds. Since then she has led the organization to continuing growth
and expansion, both in services to individuals with disabilities and
disadvantages and to retail facilities that fuel the programs.
In 1983 Goodwill held its first annual fashion show, lunch and sale, an
event that continues today.
Following a successful capital campaign, Goodwill’s new flagship store
opened next to the corporate headquarters on Third Avenue in 1989. The
modern store set a new standard of retailing by a thrift, showcasing
modern fixtures and merchandising.
|
|
1990s
The nonprofit corporation changed its name from Inland Empire
Goodwill Industries to
Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest.
In 1992
the first participants in the WORKLIFE Employability and Life Skills
Training Program were enrolled. The Idaho Division of Vocational
Rehabilitation issued Goodwill’s first, interim certification for
services.
As large-appliance repair and sandblasting became cost-prohibitive,
Goodwill discontinued those operations.
In 1992 Goodwill held its first annual fundraising auction,
“A Night in New Orleans,” in Spokane. Proceeds benefited the WORKLIFE
program as well as the cafeteria renovation and training program. The
auction continues to be a major event today.
Expansion of programs and services continued, especially in Spokane, Coeur
d’Alene, and Lewiston.
Top of page
In 1994 Goodwill opened ABC Tech Discovery Center, later changed to
ABC Discovery Child Care Center. The center provides care and
developmental activities for more than 50 children from the community as well
as from employees’ families.
Also in 1994, the Goodwill network formally adopted a new worldwide name: Goodwill Industries International.
Goodwill began using the McCarron-Dial testing system to assess
participants with the goal of determining what types of jobs best suit an
individual or what interventions are needed to perform other kinds of jobs
well. The advanced battery of tests measures cognitive abilities, motor,
adaptive, and sensory skills, and emotional-behavioral-coping skills.
In 1996 Goodwill opened its new facility in Moses Lake. It
replaced a small retail store and combined production areas, workforce
development and social services offices, large retail space, and the first
drive-through donation drop-off in the region.
In July 1997 Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest hosted the annual
convention of Goodwill Industries International, attended by more than 500
delegates from across North America and overseas affiliates. In a
surprise announcement during the week-long Delegate Assembly, Bobbi
Johnson received the Kenneth King Management Award, the most prestigious
honor for a Goodwill executive.
Goodwill opened its own computer training center in 1998. It opened with
nine work stations.
Also in 1998, Goodwill opened Bj’s next to the downtown Spokane
Goodwill store. The specialty boutique features Victorian décor, an
espresso bar, and higher-end clothing, vintage jewelry, art and antiques,
books, furniture and collectibles. The opening received enthusiastic
local publicity. Bj’s is named after President and CEO Bobbi Johnson.
In 1999 Goodwill contracted with the Washington Office of Trade and
Economic Development to provide the Community Jobs program in
Grant, Adams, and Lincoln counties. The program provides training,
pre-employment, and job placement services to individuals transitioning
from public assistance to self-sufficiency.
1999 also brought a team of surveyors from a national body, the
Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission (CARF) to the Inland
Northwest. Following an intensive evaluation of Goodwill’s services, the
surveyors awarded the longest-possible accreditation to the five
vocational programs Goodwill had submitted. Since 1974 Goodwill’s
vocational programs have received CARF accreditation, an important measure
of quality service delivery.
Top of page |
|
2000
Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest assisted more than
1250 people with disabilities and disadvantages. Individuals served had
many different barriers, ranging from physical disabilities to mental
impairments and included many people transitioning from welfare to work.
During the year major “live” retail promotions were held in Lewiston and
Coeur d’Alene. Through print ads and radio remote broadcasts from the
facilities, the public was invited to stop by and “Meet the Manager” and
enjoy special refreshments and entertainment. KREM featured great
back-to-school buys at Goodwill in a story filmed in the downtown Spokane
store.
In September a fire broke out in the Colville Goodwill. Fortunately
repairs were made quickly enough that the store was able to reopen within
days.
In October Goodwill’s held its Outlaw Auction, the major fundraising event
of the year. The Western-themed party in Spokane’s Ag Trade Center was a
huge success.
In November staff and volunteers served a Community Thanksgiving Dinner
for individuals and families who otherwise might have been able to enjoy a
holiday meal. |
|
2001
During the winter, Girl
Scouts with Goodwill was launched throughout the region. The very
successful donation drive, undertaken as a special community service
project by Girl Scouts Inland Empire Council, has become an annual event.
In September 2001, Goodwill held its annual fundraising auction party in
the soon-to-be opened Goodwill facility on North Nevada Street in Spokane.
Two days later Goodwill served as the lead agency for the two-day Spokane
visit of Mervyn’s California Community Closet. The national
project, which received extensive local news coverage, involved the
department store’s staff outfitting 64 women who were receiving public
assistance with interview/work outfits. The women came to Spokane’s
Riverfront Park from throughout the region for the event, which took place
in Mervyn’s 73-foot “department store on wheels.”
The Grand Opening of the new North Nevada Street in Goodwill
brought eager crowds of shoppers as well as local community leaders. The
retail store features a cutting-edge look, with high ceilings and exposed
pipes. The complex also has Workforce Development & Social Services
offices, a production area for processing donated goods, and a
drive-through donation drop-off.
In November Goodwill staff and volunteers served a Community Thanksgiving
Dinner at the downtown Spokane headquarters. Moses Lake Goodwill began
their own tradition of partnering with local agencies to provide a similar
dinner in that city for people who otherwise might not enjoy one. |
|
Top of page
2002
|
|
 |
|
Goodwill Industries celebrated its centennial around the world. Since
1902, when Goodwill was founded in Boston, nearly six million people
have come through Goodwill’s doors seeking assistance to transform their
lives and build independence for themselves and their families.
In November Goodwill opened its newest facility, located in the new city
of Spokane Valley. In addition to a modern retail store and
offices for workforce development and social services, the facility
includes the first drive-through espresso stand operated by a Goodwill
agency anywhere in the world.
2002 saw the successful start-up of programs developed to
serve previously unserved/underserved individuals in the Inland Northwest: |
PAY$ - Planning Action for Youth Success
Provides pre-employment services, paid work experience, training, and
job placement for youth 17-21 who are low-income and have barriers to
employment. PAY$ is funded under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)
through a partnership with the Spokane Area Workforce Development
Council. Participants are Spokane County residents.
Community Gateway
Program
Through the Corrections ClearingHouse of the Washington State
Employment Security Department, Goodwill provides job placement and other
services to individuals who have been released from custody in the last
five years.
Online & Upward
Graduates of
this computerized distance-learning program receive a certificate in
either medical billing or medical transcription from an accredited
college. Participants are individuals with disabilities who meet minimum
criteria. The innovative program is a partnership with Tacoma Goodwill
and Goodwill Industries of the Columbia (Tri Cities) funded by the U.S.
Education Department’s Projects With Industry.
|
|
July saw Goodwill’s major annual fundraiser, a Mexican-themed dinner
auction party, move the prestigious Spokane Club. Guests raved about the
venue as well as the fiesta theme, bidding for all kinds of items in both
the silent and loud auctions. Proceeds are going toward a fund to build
an innovative new playground for ABC Discovery Child Care Center, operated
by Goodwill in downtown Spokane. The center cares for more than 50
children from the community as well as from Goodwill employees’ families.
At the new Spokane Valley Goodwill, located on Sprague near Evergreen,
Bj’s Espresso opened in late 2002. The drive-through espresso stand
is the first one operated by a Goodwill anywhere. It was named for Bobbi
Johnson, President and CEO of our Goodwill, who came up with the idea. |
|
2003
January brought the third annual “Girl Scouts with Goodwill”
donation drive to the Inland Northwest. Troops of eager Girl Scouts
dropped off special donation bags then collected the full bags the
following weekend. They were featured on local television news programs.
In April Goodwill held its 19th annual fashion show, lunch and
sale in Spokane. A special salute was added to the very popular In
Vogue. A popular local television personality, Tim Adams of KHQ TV,
serves in the Navy Reserve. He helped close show wearing his Navy
dress uniform on the runway in a special moment during a time of war.
Community Gateway,
a program for ex-offenders, completed its first contract period with
outstanding results. Funded by Washington State Employment Security’s
Corrections ClearingHouse beginning on October 15, 2002, program staff
finished the state’s fiscal year by exceeding contract goals: From
inception to June 30, 2003, Community Gateway enrolled 200+ participants,
found employment for 92.2% of them and reported a 78% 90-day retention
rate. Based on performance, Goodwill’s contract was expanded both
fiscally and geographically for program year 2003-2004.
Top of page
|
|
In July 2003,
Goodwill began its contract with the Washington’s Department of
Corrections for the Going Home Initiative, an innovative
program to help individuals with serious felony backgrounds reenter the
community. Volunteers from neighborhoods and local agencies work together
to provide resources that will help prevent the participants from
re-offending and returning to prison.
Goodwill’s
Community Gateway program for people with less serious criminal
backgrounds was re-funded based on performance. Staff of the program,
which is administered by the Washington State Employment Security
Department’s Corrections ClearingHouse, were able to expand their outreach
beyond Spokane.
La Fiesta
Grande
took on a
Southwestern flair when Goodwill’s major annual fundraiser was held in
October. The popular auction party moved to The Spokane Club, where
guests bid in a silent auction and live auction for items ranging from
getaways to fine art. Mexican-influenced specialties provided a sumptuous
dinner. Proceeds benefited the fund for ABC Discovery Child Care Center’s
new playground at Goodwill’s headquarters. More than 50 children from the
community attend the center.
Community
Thanksgiving Dinners were arranged by Goodwill in Spokane and Moses Lake.
Individuals and families who might otherwise not have had a special
holiday meal attended, with generous support of local businesses.
A new in-house
program for Managers in Training was rolled out in December. Three
individuals began an intensive, three-month course of hands-on and
classroom learning to prepare them to serve as managers or assistant
managers in Goodwill facilities within the Inland Northwest.
Top of page
|
|
2004
Results of service
to individuals with disabilities and disadvantages in 2003 were announced
early in the year. More than 2000 people participated in Goodwill
programs in eastern Washington and northern Idaho. This was an increase
over the previous year of service to 1924 individuals.
|
Celebrating
Independence
was the theme
and spirit of Goodwill’s annual Awards and Recognition Night, held in
March in downtown Spokane. In addition to salutes to employees, staff,
and community supporters, this year’s event honored the five winners of
the new Independence Award. Representing Spokane, Moses Lake, Coeur
d’Alene, Lewiston, and Sandpoint/Bonners Ferry, the individuals were
recognized for building their own independence with Goodwill’s help.
|
In April Goodwill
held its 20th annual fashion show, luncheon, and
sale at the renovated, historic Davenport Hotel in Spokane. Volunteer
models from the community showed off apparel ranging from weekend wear to
business attire. In honor of the event’s anniversary, a special segment
featured vintage clothing modeled by teenage volunteers.
Good for All Seasons, the show’s theme, reflects
Goodwill’s shift to year-round offerings of holiday merchandise, rather
than limiting their availability to short-term seasonal promotions. Now
“Every Day’s A Holiday” at Goodwill.
|
|
July
brought the fourth annual Huckleberry’s/KREM Donation Drive for
Goodwill. The event includes substantial advance publicity provided at
no cost to Goodwill by KREM TV and Classy 99.9 FM. The drive entices
donors to bring by targeted items such as furniture so they can earn
certificates for Huckleberry’s Natural Market and Bistro in Spokane.
Top of page
|
|
In the
fall guests of Goodwill’s annual dinner-auction party feasted and
bid in a glowing Mediterranean atmosphere at Bella Sera, a beautiful
evening, held at The Spokane Club.
|
|
Once again
a year-end appeal for reusable donated goods brought extensive
media coverage and winter donations. Viewers were reminded that they
can tax a tax deduction as well as clearing out no-longer-wanted items.
|
|
2005
Girl
Scouts Inland Empire Council teamed with Goodwill in January to
collect resalable household goods from neighbors in communities across
the Inland Northwest.
|
|
Number
of people served by Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest
continues to climb. It is reported that in 2004 Goodwill helped more
than 2800 people in eastern Washington and northern Idaho build
independence.
|
|
In
March, members of the Goodwill family gathered in Spokane to
Celebrate Independence. Awards were presented to employees and
staff, business supporters, and program graduates.
|
|
At the
Goodwill Industries International Delegate Assembly, our President and
CEO, Bobbi Johnson, accepts the Robert and Charlotte Watkins Award
for Mission Advancement. This is the third of three prestigious awards
a CEO can receive. At the same annual convention, Community Gateway,
a program for released/releasing offenders, is presented the national
Workplace Skills Award.
Top of page
|
|
East
Wenatchee became the site of Goodwill’s 12th store in the
Inland Northwest in the summer. A huge crowd attended the grand opening
while a live radio host promoted the store. Services to Wenatchee
Valley residents will be provided soon.
|
|
2006
Following the three-day visit of a national survey team in late fall, in
the new year Goodwill receives impressive news: all of the employment
programs submitted for evaluation have received accreditation for the
maximum three-year period from the Rehabilitation Accreditation
Commission (formerly CARF).
|
Goodwill and friends
begin celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Bobbi Johnson’s
role as President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest
in March
|
|
On
April 12 Goodwill Industries opens its 13th retail store,
in Post Falls, Idaho. Out of every $1.00 Goodwill takes in, 85
cents funds its programs that last year helped more than 3100
people build independence through training, education, and employment.
Top of page |
|
|
