After all the excitement of summer, back-to-school shopping be stressful for parents — and it’s easy to see why. Every August, Americans spend more than $8.5 billion at family clothing stores, and that doesn’t even include books, school supplies, and all the rest of the season’s shopping needs. This year, Goodwill is asking families to join with us in committing to making sure that some of those back-to-school billions go toward putting people back to work right here in the Charlotte metro area. As you know, there are many people in our community facing chronic and long-term unemployment. At Goodwill, we take the value of donated clothing and household goods and turn them into job training and placement services for individuals and families in need. Every time you shop at Goodwill, you’re helping fund job training and placement programs for people in our community. On August 8-10, get 20% off when you spend $20 or more at all Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont locations except The GRID and the Freedom Drive Outlet (discounts on donated goods only). Goodwill programs have helped put millions of people back to work, allowing them to earn economic self-sufficiency for themselves and their families. People like Curtis, who was unemployed for a year and a half until he enrolled in Goodwill’s Hospitality & Tourism training program and ultimately embarked on a successful career in the hotel industry. By committing to spending even a small part of your back-to-school shopping budget at Goodwill, you can ensure your hard-earned dollars are going to a good place and making a difference not far from home. What’s more, every parent knows that shopping secondhand helps keep the overall family budget down, so you’ll be helping yourself out while helping others too — not to mention helping the environment by diverting used goods from landfills, which is something you can get your kids excited about as well. Of course, we all know it’s easier said then done to get your teenagers away from the mall, or to convince them that they don’t need every brand new back-to-school item that they swear every other kid at school is certainly going to have this year. Fortunately, even when you do buy new clothes and school supplies, you can still commit to helping put people back to work, by donating the items you no longer need. Here is a good rule of thumb: for every new back-to-school item your child simply must have, they can commit to donating two items to Goodwill. Want those new, must-have fall jeans? Two clothing items from last year need to go to Goodwill in exchange. Buying a new computer or other electronic item for high school? Bring your use laptops, DVDs or video games to the donation center. To make the whole process fun, kids can track exactly how much of an impact their donations will via the Donate Movement calculator. Don’t forget to check out our new store The GRID: Powered by Goodwill for great deals on gadgets on your technology and electronics list!
What are you donating this back-to-school season? And what great back-to-school shopping deals have you found at Goodwill? Let us know about both in the comments below, or shout back on social media via Facebook or Twitter.
Join the Conversation