Get to Know Goodwill

OUR VISION

At Goodwill, we envision a community where equitable access to career opportunities is available for all. We believe that when everyone has the opportunity to find and secure gainful employment – regardless of their background or circumstance – then families and communities thrive. Everything we do – from selling donated items in our stores to providing critical community services – supports that vision.

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Every time you donate and shop at Goodwill, you help our planet! We sell millions of secondhand items in our stores each year – items that may have otherwise ended up in a landfill had they not been donated to us. We also help eliminate electronic waste. Electronics that are donated in good working condition and items we’re able to refurbish are sold at our tech store, The GRID. Tech items that aren’t salvageable are recycled in a responsible manner. We recycle and refurbish more than 1.1 million pounds of electronics annually. 

OUR ECONOMIC IMPACT

Goodwill is a job creator! Annually, we employ more than 1,200 people. The bulk of our workforce is located in our retail stores, where all team members make at least $15/hour. Each new store we open typically brings about 30 new jobs to the region and has an estimated economic and fiscal impact of several million dollars, including wages and sales.

OUR SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

We take the best of what the community has to offer and turn it into valuable community services. The revenue we generate from selling donated goods funds job training programs, job search support, family stability services and more – all of which we offer free of charge to thousands of people in our community each year, including our very own team members.

OUR STORES

There’s a saying that if you’ve seen one Goodwill, you’ve seen ONE Goodwill. While more than 150 community-based Goodwills all share the mission of providing workforce development and career services, each Goodwill organization is autonomous and operates at the direction of its CEO and Board of Directors. Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont operates over 1 million square feet of retail, e-commerce and warehouse space. Our stores are designed to be a modern, bright, clean and well-organized display of gently-used items.