When was goodwill industries founded

Goodwill empowers more than 13, people each year, helping them fulfill their potential, improve the lives of their families, and contribute to the growth of the community. Goodwill, in collaboration with an extensive network of practical, thoughtful assistance-providers, actively strives to broaden its scope of education, job training, and business services in alignment with the core mission of transforming generations by empowering people through education, career training and work.

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Edgar J. Helms collected used household goods and clothing in more prosperous areas of the city. He then trained and hired workers who were poor and immigrants to mend and repair the used goods.

The goods were then resold or were given to the people who repaired them. It provided job skills training programs and even a rudimentary placement service. The Depression era brought an increased focus on people with disabilities.

Today, Goodwill is international in scope and the populations we serve are more diverse than ever. Reverend Charles Estabrook was selected to be the first Superintendent. Estabrook, his wife and daughters traveled through the neighborhoods of Spokane and to the homes of their church members, collecting discarded clothing and furnishings.

The Estabrook family and a handful of volunteers repaired and prepared these items to be sold. The first Goodwill store in Spokane opened in December Over the years, Goodwill expanded in the Inland Northwest. Today, we serve 23 counties in eastern Washington and north Idaho.