Spotlight On
December 1, 2007
Organization Name: Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, Inc.
Year Founded: 1915
Address: 4-21 27th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11102
Contact: Joan Meinking, VP, Administration and Compliance
Phone: (718) 728-5400
Fax: (718) 728-9023
Email: info@goodwillny.org
Web site Address: http://www.goodwillny.org/
Mission:
The mission of Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey is to enhance the quality and dignity of life for individuals, families, and communities through the "power of work." The organization strives to overcome the barriers to opportunity for people in need and facilitates empowerment, self-help, and service. It works toward a future where every person in the communities it serves has the opportunity to achieve full potential as an individual and to participate and contribute in all aspects of a productive life.
History:
The international Goodwill movement was founded in Boston in 1902 by the Rev. Dr. Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister. Dr. Helms was moved by the legions of unemployed, homeless, and disabled people who lived in the city's South End without the means to support themselves. He collected food and clothing for them but felt that his actions treated symptoms and not the disease. People became dependent on the charity they received, rather than achieving independence. To change the situation, Dr. Helms set up a shop to sell the donated goods. The people he served repaired, cleaned, and sold the items, earning an income and learning skills they could use elsewhere. Dr. Helms's motto was "Not Charity, But a Chance," an expression still used in the Goodwill movement today.
In 1915, two clergymen, Henry Park Schauffler and Edward F. Sanderson, began a similar program in Brooklyn, NY. Schauffler and Sanderson were the first to coin the name "Goodwill." Today Goodwill Industries has no religious affiliation.
Goodwill Industries of New Jersey was founded in Jersey City in 1919 by Saint Paul's Community House. New Jersey Goodwill later moved its program center to its current Harrison location. The Greater New York and Northern New Jersey Goodwills merged in 1999 to form Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey.
Current Programs:
Goodwill's programs and services provide "a hand up, not a handout" to persons with disabilities and disadvantages, offering a lifetime of follow-up. The focus is "the power of work" and the tools to achieve independence. Here are just a few examples of these programs and services:
Programs for Persons With Disabilities: evaluates participants' abilities, teaches what is expected at work, offers on-the-job learning and job coaches, and assists with job placement for persons with disabilities in employment, including public assistance recipients. Also available are educational, computer and office skills training; blind and deaf employment services; and continuing day treatment and clubhouses for persons who are mentally ill.
Member for Life: provides an important retention component to Goodwill's services. All employment program participants are enrolled as "Members for Life" and contacted regularly after they are placed in jobs. Goodwill provides help where needed. The prestigious John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University is helping to fine-tune Goodwill's annual member surveys.
Ex-Offender Programs: include Project TEAM in New Jersey, which provides employment and support services to recently-released nonviolent nonsexual ex-offenders, and an Astoria-based afterschool program to help youth get back on track as an alternative or part of probation.
GoodTemps: sends 1,000 people a day to temporary staffing jobs, many of them persons with disabilities. The staffing service holds state and local government contracts throughout New York City and in Northern New Jersey as well as a growing number of private contracts. Both long- and short-term employment is available in a wide variety of jobs.
Youth Programs: focus on keeping youth on track and in school to help achieve a successful future. Goodwill provides afterschool services in eight locations, summer day camps, summer youth employment, youth baseball and other sports, career exploration, math and reading enrichment.
Funding Needs:
Donations are critical to Goodwill's ability to make a difference in people's lives. Financial contributions help fund overall services, new projects and unique programs that do not fall into other categories of funding. These gifts enable us to help people with disabilities and disadvantages achieve self-sufficiency through the power of work, provide education and training that lead to success in the workplace, and enrich the lives of children and youth through education and recreation services. Goodwill also gladly accepts donations of clothing and household goods, which are sold in our stores to support our programs.
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