Donate. Shop. Create Jobs
You may have recently noticed several variations of a hoax email called “Think Before You Donate” which claims that “Goodwill CEO and owner Mark Curran profits $2 to $3 million a year” and other erroneous information about Goodwill Industries. In this social media age, where the legitimacy or validity of “news” can often be questioned, it’s important to understand the facts about how Goodwill is a trusted, valuable asset to the state of Delaware and Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Let’s look at the facts.
Fact: Mark Curran is not and has not ever been the CEO of Goodwill Industries. We’ve never heard of him. Jim Gibbons is the CEO of Goodwill Industries International and does not earn a “$2 or $3 million” salary. Goodwill, a 100-year-old non-profit organization, consists of 165 independent Goodwill agencies in the U.S. and Canada, and is not “owned” by any one individual or group of individuals. Each agency is governed by a local board of directors of area business and community leaders. Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County’s CEO is Colleen Morrone, who has been with the organization for over 25 years. Our Board of Directors consists of 16 members of the local business community and is chaired by Bridget Erhard of Ameriprise Financial.
Fact: A Forbes magazine article named Goodwill the “Most Important Social Enterprise of 2013” for assisting 2.4 million individuals find jobs and prepare for work. Last year, more than 100,000 employees worked at Goodwill, and we helped another 170,000 find jobs with other employers. To put this into perspective, every 38 seconds of every business work day, someone finds a job with Goodwill’s help.
Fact: In 2015, Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County placed over 500 people in community jobs through our community Job Resource Centers (located in Wilmington, Delaware and Upper Darby, Delaware County, Pennsylvania). The JRC’s, supported in part by the sale of your donated items in our stores, provide the resources needed to help those looking for a job get the assistance to improve their life and those of the family they support.
Fact: Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County employs over 800 people, making us one of the top 100 employers in the state. Working at Goodwill means more than just picking up a paycheck to our employees. Goodwill gives purpose, encouragement and a sense of belonging. Our employees want to be contributing members of their community, and Goodwill gives them that opportunity to help themselves and their families.
Fact: Goodwill’s mission is to improve the quality of life for those people with barriers to self-sufficiency through the Power of Work. We do this by providing career skills training and job placement assistance—something we’ve been doing for over 95 years. In 2015, we provided over 60,000 services to those in need in the community.
Fact: Goodwill operates 19 retail stores and donation outlets in New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties of Delaware and Delaware County, Pennsylvania. With the generous support of the community, Goodwill recorded nearly over one million retail transactions in 2015 and received over 600,000 donations. A total of 6.9 million pounds of material were kept from being landfilled in 2015, thanks to our recycling center in New Castle which recycled computers and electronics, books, clothing, shoes, plastics metal and corrugated paper. Nothing goes to waste at Goodwill where we strive to maximize every donation received.
Fact: Goodwill estimates that every four bags of donations generate enough revenue to provide one day of work at a Goodwill job for a local resident. We rely on community support for those donations and ask that you please continue donating to Goodwill. Your donations are instrumental in creating and sustaining jobs in your community.
Fact: Goodwill’s business operations are profitable, but unlike a traditional for-profit business where proceeds are paid to business owners or stockholders, Goodwill directs its revenue to funding its social services enterprises. Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County directs more than 90 cents of every dollar to mission services. This puts us near the top of all 165 Goodwill territories, where the average Goodwill earmarks 85% to mission services.
Now that you have heard the facts, we hope that you appreciate the positive impact that Goodwill brings to our region, our state and our nation. To learn more about Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County firsthand, community members are invited to visit and tour our facilities. More information can be found at www.goodwillde.org.