New Goodwill program for Tacoma single mothers

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Yakima/Union Gap store launches new look for Goodwill retail stores

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Starting in January, Goodwill becomes one of two Northwest participants in a two-year pilot program aimed at helping vulnerable children 8 and under to reach their full potential.

The November opening of the Goodwill Yakima/ Union Gap store added 30 more jobs in the local economy. The store also provided a first glimpse at the new store design that will expand across southwest Washington and the Olympic Peninsula over the next three years. Close on the heels of the new Union Gap look are redesigns at Tacoma’s 38th street, Federal Way’s Pacific Highway location and the Auburn Way store.

Goodwill’s new retail venue improves the customer shopping experience by making difficult to display merchandise – one of a kind and unique donations – easier to shop for. Layouts feature more organization and visible non-stacked merchandise. An electronic testing station, easy to read signage, an airy lit atmosphere, and central, spacious fitting rooms complement the effort. Converting cashier locations from multi-line supermarket style checkout to a single serpentine line ensures you don’t end up in the slow lane and entices shoppers with additional merchandise.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is funding two pilot approaches using 14 organizations nationwide that will improve child health and education by breaking the cycle of poverty for families of color. Both approaches help families achieve economic security and stability and provide other education and counsel to aid in child development.

The Goodwill 2-year pilot program will leverage existing job training and placement programs, partnerships with community social services and employers, an $850,000 grant from the Kellogg Foundation, and additional early childhood education and community resources to provide assistance to 140 women of color with young children. The new program – called Women 2 Work - will focus in the Tacoma area neighborhoods of Hilltop, Eastside, South End, Lakewood and Spanaway. There is a high concentration of families in Tacoma with kids below poverty level (27% in Tacoma; 32% in Lakewood; and 26-32% in Spanaway). Additionally, 44% of children of color attending regional schools are at/below the federal poverty level compared with 13% of white children.

A Report to the Community

Winter 2016

Revenue from the new Union Gap store funds free job training and job placement in a variety of career fields through Goodwill’s regional Work Opportunity Center in Yakima. In the past year, 435 unemployed residents were provided job training and other education and 227 were placed into area jobs with business partners.

GWGoodwill of the Olympics & Rainier Region

GOODWILL WORKS

Single mothers with young children such as Yvonne Surls will be the focus of Women 2 Work.

25 donation bins coming in 2016

Individual contributors, corporate partners and government grants are key to Goodwill’s job training efforts

Representatives from Wells Fargo present a check to Goodwill in support of Veteran’s Services & Warehouse & Logistics Training.

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Our $9 million effort to provide 10,000 unemployed each year with job training in a variety of career fields is made possible by several important funding sources. Thrift store retail, individual contributors, corporate partners and government grants are all critical to the effort. Our contributing partners for the past quarter were:

Wells Fargo, who recently awarded Goodwill $100,000 to support programs in Tacoma, Yakima and Longview. Half will support the Veteran’s Services Operation: GoodJobs program, that assisted 873 transitioning service and family members last year. The other half is dedicated to the Warehouse, Transportation and Logistics Distance Learning program in Yakima and Longview to serve 75 more students over the next 18 months. Rounding out Warehouse, Transportation and Logistics support, the Florence Kilworth Foundation also contributed $5,000 for Tacoma’s version of the program.

Based on performance in late 2015, the Walmart Foundation – national founding partner for Operation: GoodJobs - provided Military and Veteran Services $37,800 for program activity. They have also committed up to an additional $90,000 for goals met through April 2017. Additionally, a Boeing contribution of $125,000 to Military and Veteran Services will support transitioning service members, veterans and military spouses during FY16.

The Weyerhaeuser Foundation ($2,000) and Southwest Washington Community Foundation ($5,000) contributed to the early 2016 renovation of the Longview Work Opportunity (job training) Center.

Key Bank support of $3,500 for Goodwill’s Free Tax Center services both during tax season and the six month period for late filers following April 15.

The Puyallup Tribes awarded $3,500 to Goodwill’s Food for Youth Program that feeds low income students lunch while they attend courses at our main Tacoma Work Opportunity Center.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration awarded $1.1 million to fund our YouthBuild construction career program for 3 more years. The support will allow 66 low income young people ages 17 – 24 to learn the construction trade while earning their GED. Students will also build four houses affordable to low income families thanks to training partnerships with the Homeownership Center of Tacoma and Habitat for Humanity.

And the Pierce County Violence Prevention Program will assist 280 Goodwill and REACH Center youth with onsite violence prevention workshops and mentoring as part of youth life skills training.

Thanks to support from Bank of America, eight branches in Tacoma, Auburn, Des Moines, Kent, Lacey, and Puyallup will feature Goodwill donation bins for bank customers. BOA’s move kicks off Goodwill’s initiative to partner with corporations to provide 25 additional convenient donation drop-off locations to service donors in high traffic areas this coming year. Partners are able to co-brand the donation experience to raise awareness for their social responsibility while Goodwill accesses new donor traffic.

SUCCESS STORY: Goodwill Career Pathways program leads Sheri into Hotel PR

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Corporate Office 714 S 27th St • Tacoma, WA 98409 253.573.6500 • goodwillwa.org

This year, more than half of all adults preferred do-it-yourself Halloween costumes to packaged goods – a statistic that paid off well for Goodwill stores throughout the region.

Driving a 304% growth in revenue since 2010 is the organization’s change in inventory and merchandising to satisfy new Halloween requirements among adults. No longer willing to settle for packaged costumes, 51% of adults prefer to create a unique or personalized look for late October engagements.

In recent years, funny costumes (14%), unique and personal interpretations of iconic/classic costumes (10%) and matching or group costumes (9%) have dominated adult tastes and played into the inventory Goodwill now offers for the creative soul.

Evolving consumer need has prompted year-long identification and collection of base Halloween attire from donations, purchase of new-good costume accessories, presenting large Halloween retail sections, and providing informed costume “consultants” to aid in the customer creative process. Our “Boo-Teeks” now generate scary revenue for our career and job training centers, increasing the number of unemployed we can serve every year.

Halloween sales raise a million dollars to serve the unemployed

Spanaway Halloween “Boo-Teek” cashier and costume consultant Morena Ledesma was featured in this year’s Wall Street Journal story on the growth of Goodwill in the Halloween business.

C.W. Herchold, Director of Client Service for Americas Institutional at Russell Investments and a veteran of other non-profit boards, is Goodwill’s new Board Chairman for 2016 – 2017. Prior to his appointment as Chair, Herchold served as Treasurer & Chaired the Finance Committee for three years. To ensure a sustainable future for Goodwill, his focus will be on expanding our mission services through diversification of revenue. Goodwill also announced new Board members for 2016: Rory Connelly, President of BCRA, John Corapi, VP for Clinical Operations at Group Health, Drew Henrickson, VP Senior Financial Advisor at Columbia Bank and Colette Taylor, COO of Americas Institutional at Russell Investments.

Meet Goodwill’s new Chairman of the Board

Sheri came to Goodwill after a string of bad luck. She’d been a personal chef and manager when the economy crashed in 2008. “I went through all my resources and was on unemployment,” Sheri remembers. “Then I got a job ticket from social security for Goodwill---not for shopping but for job training. It couldn’t have

come at a better time!” Sheri admits she was at a low point, but the day she met Lori Popejoy, Ticket to Work case manager, she felt a seed of hope. “She got me going on my resume. I read it and realized, wow, I’m better than I thought! The people at Goodwill help you stand strong.”

Goodwill’s Career Pathways Computer Skills and Office Support program were perfect. “I dug in and graduated at the top of my class.”

With new skills and confidence, Sheri applied to Quality Inn and Suites and was hired a day later. She took the initiative to grow a front desk job into a position managing their refurbished conference rooms. She now also does PR events such as recent work on the hotel’s grand opening.

Like Sheri Starr says, “it’s amazing what happens at Goodwill.”

Sheri Starr: now doing PR for Quality Inn and Suites.

Work Opportunity Centers: Tacoma 253.573.6500 | Longview 360.501.8340 | Yakima 509.452.6061

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You may not be aware that we welcome donations of “Premier Goods”, higher value items such as precious jewelry, designer watches, bags and shoes, signed paintings, sculptures, pottery, boats, antiques and rare collectables. We take great care with your premier donations, maximizing the value so we can help put more people to work. Please visit goodwillwa.org for details on donation sites or call us for free home pickup of your furniture and premier goods.

Our mission, to help people with barriers to employment go to work, could not happen without your donations. Our 33 retail stores, three boutiques, and online sales both serve the community with low priced goods and maximize revenue for job training and education. All because donations, retail sales, and job and career training… change lives.

Thank you for your support! Terry Hayes

President & CEO

Goodwill Board Goodwill Heritage Foundation Board Executive Commitee ChairDon Johnson

Chair Elect/SecretaryC.W. Herchold TreasurerScott Waner

At LargePamela Transue, PhDSkip Haynes

Directors Donna Albers Chris AlgeoJamey BalousekRobert BrubackAnthony Chen, MD

Cheryl CuthbertsonBill DickensBuzz FolsomShahrokh Saudagaran Frank Scoggins Judy SwainJane TaylorJohn TuohyChad Wright

Officers ChairJim Loomis

Vice ChairGreg Biersack

TreasurerBarbara Mitchell Briner

SecretaryDennis Fulton

DirectorsSteve BargerBill Dickens Jason HallChuck Hellar

Bev Losey Eileen Sullivan Jim Walton

& CREATE JOBSDONATEVISIT GOODWILLWA.ORGFOR A DONATION LOCATION NEAR YOU

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Household donations will help us serve 10,000 unemployed this year… The simple act of cleaning out your closets for the New Year can change a person’s life! Just one suit and a bag of clothes donated to Goodwill will pay for

two hours of Computer Skills and Office Training for those in need. And a working computer can pay for an entire day of instruction in our Culinary or Barista training program!

Thanks to our tiers of retail, we make the most of your clothing, books, toys, electronics, furniture or anything else that you’re not using – even your old auto will generate significant revenue thanks to our partnership with Vehicles for Charity who gives 80% of the car sales proceeds (minus towing) to Goodwill.

A Message from the CEO