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We’d like to extend a very big “thank you” to Ally Financial for donating more than $50,000 to provide paid work experience and internships for more than 20 construction and technology participants to gain practical experience in their career fields!

“Ally’s proud to work with Goodwill to provide opportunities for economic mobility through job training and skill-building programs. At Ally, we believe that everyone deserves a path to financial stability,” said Natalie J. Brown, director of corporate citizenship at Ally Financial.

Paid work experience and internships offered at the end of Goodwill courses will help participants practically apply their learnings on job sites and in the workplace, provide opportunities to develop transferrable skills, explore specific areas of the construction or IT industry, broaden their network to increase social capital and increase employability.

These opportunities will equip adult learners with fundamental industry skills that will increase their ability to secure family-sustaining employment.

Special thanks to Ally for investing in Goodwill’s mission and helping launch careers for so many people!

The old saying “it never rains on the golf course” was never truer than it was on May 3. Heavy rains and the threat of storms didn’t stop 144 golfers from completing a round of golf at the annual CLT Charity Golf Tournament at Ballantyne Country Club in South Charlotte.

Hosted by the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the event raised funds for the Goodwill Construction Skills Training Center, which trains people to meet the growing demand for skilled workers in the construction industry. According to local construction coalition C3, roughly 80,000 workers will be needed through 2029, and Goodwill is proud to provide access to opportunities for meaningful employment through its construction and trade skills training courses.

Funds raised will directly support classes such as Construction Basics, HVAC and Blueprint Reading & Estimating by allowing the organization to implement new technologies, such as virtual reality and drones, in its courses and diversify training methods to meet adult students where they are and support their goals to enter the workforce, upskill or change careers.

The golf tournament raised more than $75,000 to support the Goodwill Construction Skills Training Center, which is important because services are provided to participants at no cost to them. In addition to training classes, participants receive wrap-around services such as basic needs, referrals, resume prep, interview skills and career coaching to support the whole individual.

We are so grateful for our partnership with the Charlotte Douglas International Airport and presenting sponsor American Airlines for their commitment to community and for helping people see possibilities, seize opportunities and prosper! 

 

The nonprofit is relocating its Dixie Village store to a new location on Union Road

Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont is relocating one of its Gaston County stores to a larger location in the Union Hudson Crossing Shopping Center in south Gastonia. The new store and donation center, located at 2204 Union Rd. will open at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 19.

“We are proud to be able to renovate and reinvigorate this space, which had been dormant since April 2018. This is a great location for Goodwill that creates opportunities for improved customer and donor experiences over the previous location, with a larger shopping footprint and the addition of a drive-up donation drop-off,” said Barbara Maida-Stolle, chief operations officer for Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. “We appreciate the support we’ve already received from the local community, whose patronage through shopping and donating directly funds our mission to provide career training and employment services to anyone who needs them, free of charge.”

The 42,680 square-foot former grocery store will be divided into a retail store and donation center with 11,300 square feet of shopping space, with the remaining space dedicated to the organization’s growing e-commerce operation, ShopGoodwill.com. The auction site helps to fund the Goodwill mission with a handpicked selection of antiques, electronics, clothing, jewelry, and much more. 19 team members currently working at the Dixie Village store and 38 e-commerce team members will be relocating to the new space. Goodwill will hire an additional eight people to join the growing team at this location. This new location has an estimated economic impact of $7 million annually, including wages and sales.

Goodwill has long been a part of the Gastonia community. The Dixie Village store first opened its doors in April 1986, followed by another store and donation center in the Franklin Square shopping center, which opened in October 1991. The nonprofit’s retail operations aren’t its only presence in the area. Goodwill delivers training opportunities in construction, IT, customer service and other employment services like resume building, mock interview practices and more through its Goodwill Job Connection on Armstrong St. In 2019, more than 1,700 people received support through the Gastonia Job Connection. This location also houses a branch of the organization’s staffing service, GoodWork Staffing, which provides temporary, temp-to-hire, executive recruiting, outsourcing, direct hire, onsite management and payroll services. Individuals looking for employment support can visit goodwillsp.org to connect with a Goodwill career navigator to learn about the current virtual services available free of charge.

“Gastonia is a vibrant community, and we are proud to recommit to a long-term home here with this unique new Goodwill location. We look forward to continuing to serve the community here with our mission services, which we know are in need at this time as unemployment levels reach record highs,” said Chris Jackson, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. “We look forward to welcoming shoppers and donors to this improved location – and especially right now, to do so with a focus on health and safety.”

Goodwill takes the health and safety of its team members and community very seriously. The store will be operating on limited hours from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday – Saturday and 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Sunday, and will limit the number of people in the store to maintain safe distancing. The new store will also follow the same safety protocols currently in place in the 25 other stores operated by Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. This includes the wearing of masks and gloves by team members, installation of sneeze guards at all registers, regular disinfecting, and required safety trainings and check-ins for all team members prior to each shift. A full list of safety protocols and procedures can be accessed here.

 

Let’s be honest. Will you really wear that bridesmaid dress from three years ago ever again? What about that flower girl dress your daughter wore last summer that she’s already outgrown? Or that wedding gown you felt the need to hold on to for sentimental reasons only to find that it’s doing nothing more than taking up space in your guest bedroom closet? Well, we have just the thing for you.

We’re hosting a Bridal Apparel Donation Drive at all of our stores and attended donation centers on Saturday, January 11. Donate your bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses, mother-of-the-bride dresses, flower girl dresses, menswear, tuxedos, ring bearer outfits and more. When you do so, you’ll receive a one-time coupon that you can use to get 20% off donated goods at any of our stores (excluding The GRID and Second Editions) until March 31. 

These items will be sold at our second annual Bridal Pop-up Event slated for Saturday, March 7, at the Goodwill Opportunity Campus. Not only will you be helping dreams come true for brides on a budget, but proceeds from the sale will also help fund job training and employment services free of charge for people in our community, so it really is a win-win. 

The Charlotte Knights and Goodwill® are Spring Cleaning at BB&T Ballpark

The baseball club and local nonprofit will host an electronics recycling drive on March 26

 

WHAT:      The Charlotte Knights are cleaning up BB&T Ballpark to get ready for spring, and are providing a large electronics donation to Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. Before the first game of spring between the UNC Charlotte 49ers and Clemson Tigers, Homer, the Charlotte Knight’s mascot, will help to load up a Goodwill truck with electronics from around the ballpark! The Knights and Goodwill invite community members and businesses to bring their electronics donations to the ballpark from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on March 26 to support Goodwill’s mission to help job seekers get career-ready and back to work in our community. Fans can also bring electronics to donate on their way into the game, including printers, laptops, tablets, e-readers, game systems, toys, cameras, accessories and more!

 

WHY:        Spring is a great time to look through your home and workplace for items you don’t use or need – and donate them! Proceeds from community donations to Goodwill help to fund training programs in construction, customer service and IT, and career placement opportunities for job seekers here in our community. Have printers, computers, calculators, flat-screen TVs and other tech sitting around? Goodwill has an electronics recycling program that works to refurbish used technology and provide it for purchase at The GRID, its technology store located in the University area.

 

About Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont

 

Goodwill has been serving individuals and families in the Southern Piedmont region of North and South Carolina for more than 50 years. Goodwill operates 25 retail stores and has more than 30 donation sites in the region. Proceeds from the sale of donated goods fund job training and employment services for individuals facing obstacles to employment such as lack of skills, experience or education, and those with criminal backgrounds. In 2017, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont provided employment services to more than 12,600 individuals thanks to donations and purchases from the community. For more information, visit www.goodwillsp.org.

Facebook.com/GoodwillSP | Twitter & Instagram: @GoodwillSP | LinkedIn: Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont

 

Media Contacts

 

Samantha Story | Public Relations & Communications Manager | Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont | Direct: (704) 332-0262 | Email: sam.story@goodwillsp.org

 

Melinda Wilshire | Director, Marketing & Communications | Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont | Direct: (704) 916-1616 | Cell: (443) 540-0593 | Email: melinda.wilshire@goodwillsp.org

 

From Giving Tuesday through Sunday, December 2, Goodwill stores throughout the Charlotte region are hosting a Goodwill Giving Tree event!

When you shop holiday ornaments at Goodwill’s stores, proceeds from the sale will help provide desks, chairs and technology for the Goodwill Construction Skills Training Center scheduled to open in early 2019. Additionally, shoppers who purchase ornaments will be entered to win a $100 Goodwill gift card to help with their holiday shopping this season!

Goodwill will share updates on our social media pages throughout the week to show the impact of the community’s generous contributions to this much-needed facility. The Goodwill Construction Skills Training Center will serve hundreds of youth and adults each year as they earn industry-recognized credentials that help them access in-demand careers in the skilled trades – free of charge. Programs in areas such as masonry, electrical/HVAC, carpentry and more will help people in our community gain specialized skills to start promising careers – while also meeting the current demand for skilled trade professionals in the Charlotte region.

Learn more at goodwillsp.org/about-us/construction-center.

If you have even a little bit of pack rat in you, you probably have a hard time parting with clothes. Sometimes there are good reasons – like nostalgia over a gifted item or sweatshirt that got you through a breakup. But, sometimes we just need to accept that giant furry boots aren’t going to be “in” again (sorry, Flo Rida).

Get ready to give your wardrobe a refresh — not by adding new items, but by purging the old and unnecessary. Stylist and fashion insider Stacee Michelle helped us cultivate this list of the top 15 items most of us probably own… and probably shouldn’t wear again – from the cocktail dress you swore you’d wear eventually (but never did) to the pants that don’t quite fit (but still haven’t made it to the tailor). Run, don’t walk, to your local Goodwill to donate these items – because it’s time to let go.

  1. The shrunken hoodie you bought on vacation
    Seriously, will you ever wear that screen-printed sweatshirt you bought during a layover in [insert city here]? Our guess is no. Let it go.
  2. The trendy graphic tee you caved on
    The pun was funny for the first five minutes.
  3. The designer collab you had to have
    You may have waited hours in line and bought into the “limited quantity” hype (Versace x H&M, Lilly Pulitzer x Target, etc.), but these pieces become irrelevant faster than they fly off the shelves.
  4. The ill-fitting pants you wore to your first job interview
    Corporate pinstripes aren’t what helped you land your dream job. That was you. Let the pants go.
  5. The collection of layering options
    If you own more cotton tanks than Forever 21, it’s time to trim down your stash. You don’t need that many colors.
  6. The shoes that still give you blisters
    It doesn’t matter how many times you try to “break them in.” Sometimes beauty isn’t worth the pain. They don’t fit, accept it.
  7. The sample sale score that doesn’t fit
    Was the designer piece really a win if you can’t actually wear it?
  8. The headbands from your Blair Waldorf phase
    Hey, Upper East Siders. Big bows on headbands belong in the kid’s section. xoxo.
  9. The novelty memento you bought on vacation
    Cowboy boots from Nashville, beach wraps from the Caribbean… they seemed like great souvenirs from your week away, but have you worn them since?
  10. The college tee you still wear to work out
    If you’ve been out of college for more than one year, it’s time to graduate past the world of neon tanks and into the realm of real athletic wear. Check out the great workout gear Stacee Michelle snagged at GW!
  11. The sparkly dress you bought for New Year’s — but still haven’t worn
    You meant to rock this to watch the ball drop…in 2014. If you haven’t worn it by now, ask yourself: Will you ever?
  12. The “vintage” jean jacket you dug up from high school
    What’s the point of an outerwear piece you can’t move your arms in?
  13. The button-down that “still fits”
    It may be a “classic” but if the buttons can barely close, it’s time for a new classic.
  14. Your prom dress
    You’ll never wear it again, we promise. And, you could make some other girl’s dreams come true by donating it.
  15. That trucker hat you swore you’d wear again
    Paris had her moment with these, let’s leave them in the past.

Once you’ve filled one of your forgotten free totes with these 15 things, click here to find a Goodwill drop-off location near you. Your closet will thank you, and so will your community. Every item sold in Goodwill stores supports job training and employment services to help people find and secure family-sustaining employment.

Does this warm weather have you getting ready for spring cleaning?

Individuals and families aren’t the only ones who spring clean, because over the next few weeks, Goodwill will be doing some “spring cleaning” of our own as we transition the merchandise in our retail stores from winter to spring!

In celebration of the upcoming seasonal transition, we’re offering discounts of 50% off men’s and women’s sweaters, women’s blazers and women’s long-sleeve blouses on each of the following days that our retail stores make the transition from winter to spring:

For a full list of our retail stores with hours of operation, addresses, phone numbers and more, please visit the Retail Stores page of our website. And be sure to check our Promotions page often, as we may be adding more sale dates and locations!

Not only are you getting a great deal on warm clothes for this fall and winter with this sale, but also every time you shop at Goodwill, proceeds from your purchase help fund job training and employment services offered free of charge to local job seekers in our community facing barriers to employment.

And remember to donate to Goodwill during your spring cleaning this year too – whether it be cleaning out your closet, garage, kitchen, backyard shed, or any other areas of your home or office – to help our neighbors find stable employment this year. Goodwill is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and all donations are tax deductible. For a full list of donation drop-off sites, please visit the Goodwill Locations map on our website.