Goodwill expanding in St. Thomas… creating jobs on a recycling
platform

St. Thomas, Ontario – Goodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes is growing, creating jobs, serving hundreds facing layoff and helping to sustain the environment by recycling millions of pounds of donated goods. The latest expansion to Goodwill’s large network of Career Centres, Community Stores and Donation Centres will be a new Community Store and Donation Centre and 321 Elm St. in south St. Thomas. This project will create 10 new jobs expanding Goodwill’s workforce in St. Thomas to a total of 30 employees. The Downtown Talbot St. site will remain open but will undergo a renovation and transformation, to improve access and convenience for donors and enhance the buildings appearance.

Goodwill is a social enterprise that provides jobs, employment services and training to help people get ahead. Goodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes is one of seven regional Goodwills in Canada serving Southwestern Ontario. Over 160 new jobs have been created at Goodwill in this region since early 2007. The job creation potential at Goodwill looks bright. Goodwill is creating employment despite a challenging economy on the basis of an increasingly relevant mission – serving and employing people who face employment barriers such as disability on a work platform which provides access to affordable goods and encourages reuse and recycling.

Construction to renovate the new Elm Street site will commence the first of August and a grand opening is targeted for the third week in September. The Donation Centre will open right away – in early August – to build inventory for the new location.

At the core of Goodwill’s success are the hundreds of thousands of donors who fuel the mission by donating clothing and household goods. Every time a donor gives to Goodwill they are creating jobs for those who need them most, generating revenue to support mission and diverting from landfill. Every donor contribution to Goodwill generates one hour of sustainable work. Across Ontario Goodwill is transforming its approach to collecting donated goods by introducing attended or staffed Donation Centres. Staffing improves donor confidence and the quality of goods and leads to more efficiency in processing and moving goods quickly to the retail floor. Un-attended, unsightly bins and boxes have been completely eliminated.

Twelve new attended Donation Centres, including the latest on Elm Street, have opened in the Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Stratford, Woodstock, St. Thomas and London regions. Donation volume has risen year over year, quality has improved dramatically and sales are up right across the region.

Goodwill Industries, Ontario Great Lakes is one of seven, non-profit, regional Goodwills in Canada serving Southwestern Ontario, and one of 160 worldwide.

A $9.6 million social enterprise headquartered in London Ontario, Goodwill employs 300 people many of whom face disability and disadvantage.

Goodwill provides a full continuum of employment services and last year served more than 7,000 individuals seeking to transition to meaningful work.

Goodwill helps families facing poverty by providing access to affordable goods.

Many small enterprises thrive by purchasing and re-selling goods carefully selected from Goodwill Community Stores.

Goodwill collects 15 million pounds of goods annually, thereby diverting from landfill.

Collectively across North America, Goodwill is the largest employer of persons facing disability and disadvantage, employing 88,000 people.