Goodwill Does Want Your Donations
Misconception About Donations
I want to clear something up. There have been some national news stories carrying the message “Goodwill doesn’t want your junk,” suggesting donors are bringing broken toasters and trash to Goodwill. This compels me to assure you: Goodwill absolutely wants your donations.
First, let’s address any confusion that may have resulted from this story. Yes, it’s true, we sometimes get donations that we must dispose of because they’re not sellable. And yes, it’s true, it costs money to dispose of unusable items. But this fact should never discourage you from donating to Goodwill. While you may no longer want what you donate, it most certainly is not “junk” to us. Goodwill, very much, wants your gently used donations.
Social enterprises like Goodwill rely on donated goods to support our mission. When you donate to Goodwill you are fueling our mission to “help people overcome challenges to employment and transform lives through the power of work.” We, at Goodwill, work hard every day to be good stewards of all donations.
Our goal is very simple:
Extract as much value as we humanly can from every single item we are fortunate enough to receive. Goodwill is especially good at achieving this goal due to our generous community. We sort and sell the best of what is donated. Items not sold or not saleable are recycled or baled and sold as salvage. We do all of this in a socially responsible way, diverting what would typically be sent to the landfill. As a result, our Goodwill keeps over 18 million pounds of goods out of local landfills every year. That’s the equivalent of 45 blue whales (the largest animal on Earth)! No matter how we sell your donations, it generates revenue to fund our mission.
Your donations to Goodwill become real money that is invested into programs and services helping provide people in central Oklahoma overcome challenges to employment. Our programs lead to measurable and meaningful results for our neighbors. Whether it is an unemployed person with a disability, a neighbor recovering from substance abuse, or someone who served prison time for a nonviolent crime, Goodwill is proud to help everyone overcome their barriers to employment. Your donations allow us to provide and expand our services.
Goodwill’s community impact is important both to individuals and our local economy— and our work is impossible without your donations. I know our friends at the Salvation Army, Rescue Mission, Diversion Hub and other nonprofits all have similar stories. All of us need your donations to continue this important work.
I don’t want anyone in our community to be discouraged from donating because of a national news story that doesn’t quite tell the whole story, and I hope you will continue supporting Goodwill. Each time you do, please know you are making an important difference. You’re not just decluttering your closets and garages; you are transforming lives through the power of work.