Could This Outfit
Get Someone A Job?

Some people can do amazing things with second-hand clothes. Here at Goodwill, we turn them into work. Surprised? You’re not alone. The fact is most people know about our thrift stores. But few know why we operate them.

Since Goodwill’s founding nearly 80 years ago, our stores have been a means to an end. Our real business is changing lives by providing vocational opportunities to people with barriers to employment.

Last year, our local stores converted some 131 million pounds of donated goods into $65.7 million in revenue. That’s more than any other North American Goodwill, including those in much larger cities like Los Angeles or New York.

Naturally, we put that money to good use. During 2004, we provided employment and other vocational services to 11,694 people in northwest Oregon and southwest Washington. And, we paid our workers with barriers to employment over $30.8 million in wages and benefits.

We did all this while limiting our administrative overhead to less than 9%, far below the industry standard of 15%.

Our stores and services provide hope, self-esteem, and independence. All through the power of work. All on the strength of used merchandise.

Goodwill helped him Learn
to trust others and himself

Johnny Beckhardt
Johnny Beckhardt was born with multiple severe disabilities. While growing up, people laughed at him and even abused him. By the time he reached 23, he trusted no one.

He came to us profoundly insecure, with the cognitive ability of a six-year-old. That didn’t stop us from believing in him.

We gave him a job in our Dallas store and we treated him with respect. We helped him learn to sort clothes, apply price tags and hold his head high.

According to his dad, Johnny feels pride for the first time in his life. In fact, he brags about Goodwill to his family and friends and sometimes even buys them presents using his Goodwill discount.

He still has a long way to go. But now he has a direction.

When people have special needs, Goodwill can help them stand straight and tall.

Then her case worker told her about Goodwill. We hired her immediately and gave her a position at one of our stores.

Linzy had trouble adjusting. She missed days at a time, and she stayed angry at the world.

But we wouldn’t give up on her.

We helped her learn to get along with her coworkers, keep a positive attitude and move beyond the limitations of her wheelchair.

Today, she’s a self-starter with a winning attitude. She loves sorting and stocking shoes and she’s always on the lookout for new responsibilities. And Linzy never misses a day of work.

When people have special needs, Goodwill can help them turn adversity into accomplishment.

When her life in Ethiopia crumbled,
Goodwill helped her
get it together.

ZEYINI SHAM
When Ethiopian rebels executed a man right in front of her house in 1999, Zeyini Sham decided to leave. She sought refuge and freedom for herself and her seven children in America. At first, her sister took the family in. But a two-bedroom apartment just wasn’t big enough for 10 people.

Desperate for a job and an income, Zeyini came to Goodwill. We were impressed by her determination and offered her a processing position at our store in Clackamas. And we enrolled her in our English as a Second Language class.

She’s picked up on her new job and new language quickly. And she’s saved enough to move into her own four-bedroom apartment. Now she’s perfecting her english at night at Portland Community College. Like their mom, her two older sons are pursuing higher education – one at Willamette University and one at Stanford.

When people need a change of direction, Goodwill can point the way.

Transitional Services
Job Connection: Matches the skills and abilities of individuals with the employment needs of local businesses

Long-Term Services
Community Integration: Goodwill store in Dallas, Oregon, integrates people with multiple, severe disabilities into the retail program setting

Alternatives To Employment: A day program which provides adults with disabilities opportunities for learning, socialization and integration

Sheltered Services: Non-competitive employment at Goodwill designed to help transition individuals with disabilities into supported or competitive employment

Supported Employment: Goodwill-managed, paid work experience in community work situations

Retail Program
Employs and provides on-the-job training to people with barriers to employment at 87 attended donation centers, and 35 retail stores in northwest Oregon and southwest Washington

English-as-a-Second Language
Available to Goodwill employees and the community, the program teaches the language functions, culture and vocabulary necessary for successful oral and written communication

OUR MISSION:
TO PROVIDE VOCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITIES TO
PEOPLE WITH BARRIERS
TO EMPLOYMENT.

Goodwill serves people with a wide range of barriers to employment

Board of Directors
Thomas C. Young, Chair
Richard C. Ross, Past Chair
Karl F. Koch First, Vice Chair
William G. Seal, Second Vice Chair
Lewis C. Nickerson, Sr., Secretary
Kent L. Aldrich, Treasurer
Laurie Carlson Anderson
Robert Brunmeier
Garry Bullard
Bruce Burns
Jeff Grubb
Pete Sinclair
Nancy Wilgenbusch, Ph.D

Executive Staff
Michael M. Miller, President
Sylvia Schmidt, Assistant to the President
Robert J. Barsocchini, Dir. Human Resources and Loss Control
Peter Collins, Director of Operations
Cheri Folk, Director of Vocational Services
Titus Herman, Director of Marketing and Planning
Richard Knox, Director of Finance