Program Purpose
The Better Together Program aims to foster a meaningful partnership between Goodwill and other social service agencies to provide people a hand up rather than a handout.
Community Need
People in our communities are in need of clothing and other items especially as they are returning from incarceration, entering recovery, and experiencing homelessness. Providing vouchers may be helpful in the immediate moment, but at Goodwill our mission is to partner with individuals with disabilities and challenges to help them lead the lives they envision. Unfortunately, many in the community as well as other social service agencies don’t realize how Goodwill can help individuals with the job search process as well as on-the-job supports. We want to synergize with other agencies to provide individuals in need more meaningful assistance to obtain the life they envision for themselves.
Social service agencies and churches partner with Goodwill to host a Goodwill Day. Goodwill Day involves a donation drive where the agency can earn gift cards to have on hand for those who come to them for assistance with clothing or other items. In addition to the donation drive, Goodwill Day will include a meeting with the agency’s staff or a church’s congregation to share more information about the services Goodwill provides and how individuals can start services.
The agency or church hosting the donation drive will be expected to promote the drive to attract donors. Goodwill will assist in promotion efforts through Facebook and providing the host with a template press release for local media outlets.
Donation drives are easy to add onto existing events agencies and churches may already have or agencies may also want to partner to host a drive and split the gift cards earned. Goodwill will provide a truck and driver to stay at the event and/or large 4×4 boxes called gaylords to collect donations depending on the nature of the donation drive.
Scheduling a Goodwill Day must be done at minimum 2 weeks before the desired date of the drive.
$25/full gaylord with a maximum $200 earned per donation drive
A receipt will be completed documenting donations received at pickup. It will need to be signed by someone at the agency. This receipt will be used at corporate to determine the amount of gift cards owed which will be delivered in person by a Goodwill district manager within a week after the donation drive.
Retail Assistant Brandie English will be the initial point person to schedule a Goodwill Day drive or to arrange a continuous donation collection site. She can be reached weekdays at 740-702-4000 Ext. 137 or via email at brandie.english@gwisco.org.
Gift cards are a better option than vouchers because:
- They don’t need to ask for a manager or present identification to use it.
- They are not limited on what items they can purchase with it.
- They can use it at any Goodwill of South Central Ohio store.
- Any remaining balance is retained for later use.
- There is no expiration date.
- There is no wait time since the agency has them in hand.
- They also are more secure (can’t be duplicated).
You don’t pay for your merchandise. Why not just give us vouchers or gift cards?
While the bulk of the merchandise in our stores are donations, we sell these donations to help support our mission to partner with individuals with disabilities and challenges to help them lead the lives they envision. We also have employees who are paid to process the donations and run the stores. Learn more about our mission services at gwisco.org/mission.
Agencies and churches may also purchase gift cards at any of our stores. Those who wish to purchase a large amount at one time should call Retail Assistant Brandie English at the corporate office at 740-702-4000 Ext. 137 to make arrangements.