Morgan Winston had a birthday to remember in December. In just one day, the teenager visited 17 Goodwill retail locations across the Charlotte region to commemorate her special day.
“I just love thrifting. That’s something my dad, my sister and I would do together,” Morgan said. “I thought, what’s something fun I could do for my 17th birthday? I just wanted to spend the whole day going to Goodwill. Then my dad had the idea: You’re turning 17, why don’t you go to 17 Goodwill’s?”
On December 28, 2024, Earnest Winston took his daughters, Morgan and her younger sister, Olivia, on a thrifting spree of 17 Goodwill’s across the Charlotte region.
“I know the kinds of clothes I’m going to find when I go to Old Navy, or if I go to H&M, but when I go to the Goodwill, I don’t know what I’m going to find,” Morgan explained. “For me, thrifting is a way to really curate my personal style, because it’s so unique. And I feel like no one else has what I have that I find at Goodwill,” Morgan added.
ThredUp’s Annual Report found that a younger generation is tapping into thrifting, with 56% of Gen Z and Millennials saying they would forgo the latest trends in favor of a one-of-a-kind look.
“During COVID, I just started watching a lot of YouTubers who picked up thrifting. And I think I’d heard of it before, but I’d never seen it done, especially young people doing it,” Morgan explained.
Just five years later, Morgan is an avid thrifter, and a regular at Goodwill. In addition to thrifting unique finds, she knows her shopping and donations at the nonprofits retail stores help to make a difference in the community and support sustainability. That’s why in addition to shopping on her birthday, both she and her sister cleaned out their closets and donated clothes.
“It felt even more enjoyable knowing that by supporting Goodwill we’re able to help provide opportunities for people to learn new skills, find employment and provide for themselves and for their families,” Earnest said. “My wife and I, we are constantly trying to teach our daughters, this journey that we’re on called life is more than just about us. It’s about what we are doing to give back so that others can have a more impactful life. For me and my wife, that was the true meaning behind this experience.”
Although they didn’t make a purchase from every store, they did find goods at about 13 of the stores and spent time at all 17 stores.
So, what does it take to visit 17 Goodwill locations in one day? First off, a good plan of action.
“I think we got up around 6 a.m. and we left the house at about 8:20. We decided to go to the furthest location first and work our way back in,” Earnest explained of their plan for the day.
With the help of Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, Earnest was able to give his daughter this very special birthday gift. The nonprofit assisted by providing a map of its 36 retail locations across the Charlotte region, so the Winston’s could select the stores they wanted to visit and achieve their goal. They even gifted Morgan with a swag bag at her final stop, the Idlewild store.
Their big day began at the store in Shelby, one of the largest Goodwill locations in the nation – featuring a community room and an entire electronics and gaming section hosted by the nonprofit’s tech store, The GRID.
“We were going to spend 15, no more than 20 minutes in each store. We spent like 30 minutes in the Shelby store because it was so huge,” Earnest explained.
This created some challenges, and at one point they were unsure if they would achieve their goal, but they did.
“We started off behind and we played catch up for the rest of the day,” Earnest said.
While this day took a lot of preparation, for Earnest, this time with his daughters was priceless.
“Having both of them with me for the entire day was an amazing experience,” he said. “The reason I suggested 17 was because I wanted it to be even more meaningful than just a birthday celebration. For me, it was about having a goal, having something to aim for and dreaming big. I think I helped to sort of just reemphasize to them that it’s okay to dream big.”
