Goodwill of Greater Washington: Continuing to Serve the Disadvantaged

In normal times, Goodwill is at the forefront of helping those in need. Headed by FC2 Trustee Catherine Meloy, Goodwill of Greater Washington runs 20 retail stores in the region, as well as 11 government contract sites, and an adult charter high school called The Goodwill Excel Center.

Goodwill hires people with disabilities and disadvantages including the underemployed, returning citizens, and single mothers as associates to work in the stores and to fulfill custodial, grounds maintenance, glass cleaning and other needs in government buildings downtown and throughout the DC region. 91 cents out of every dollar earned by Goodwill directly supports its mission, which is to train and employ people with disadvantages or disabilities in industry-sector training and at the Goodwill Excel Center.

Goodwill has continued working toward that mission during the current crisis. When its retail stores closed down, it made a major effort to make sure its associates were taken care of. Although they were furloughed, Goodwill continued to provide health insurance and pay all premiums from April through June. Now that stores are beginning to reopen, Goodwill intends to hire back as many staff as possible.

Beginning in mid-May, Goodwill helped to deliver food for the Capital Area Food Bank, which had run out of trucks and drivers. Goodwill used its retail division trucks and drivers, delivering roughly 9,000 meals to distribution centers throughout the region.

At The Excel Center, where students of all ages earn a high school diploma, it made sure all of its students had the technology they needed to continue to learn from home. In a testament to the dedication of its students, nearly all of the 360 enrolled before the crisis stayed with the program to continue their schooling toward a degree.