Goodwill Industries International Video Wins Telly Award

ROCKVILLE, MD — Goodwill Industries International recently received a 2011 Telly Award in the not-for-profit category for all three of its television public service announcements (PSAs) promoting the Donate Movement, a global public awareness initiative that emphasizes the positive impact that donated clothing and other household goods can have on communities and the environment. Through the Donate Movement, Goodwill Industries® is challenging people to rid their closets and homes of unwanted items and put them to good use by donating them to Goodwill®. The 31st annual Telly Award committee and the Silver Telly Council ­­­— which is made up of top industry professionals that are past winners of a Silver Telly, the highest honor ­— judged the entries. You can view the PSAs on the Goodwill Industries International YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/GoodwillIntl.
Goodwill has served as a social innovator and environmental pioneer for nearly 110 years. The organization takes the donations it receives and sells them in stores and online, using 84 percent of its generated revenues to fund education services, youth mentoring and other skills training that help people find employment and feel a sense of dignity and pride.
One of the three of the award-winning Donate Movement PSAs featured Lorie Marrero, Certified Professional Organizer®, author of The Clutter Diet, creator of ClutterDiet.com, organizing expert for Good Housekeeping, and spokesperson for the Donate Movement. Her PSA, “Just as there are things you recycle, there are things you donate,” demonstrates that just as recycling is good for the environment, so is making responsible donations. She noted that donating items helps keep them from landfills, and when donated to reputable organizations like Goodwill, the revenue is used to fund job training for anyone having a hard time finding a job.
“The Donate Movement is innovative in that it enables consumers and leading brands to be aware of what it means to make a conscious donation and how that translates into growing our mission and providing job training services that are in high demand,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International.  “The Telly Award is a prestigious honor that allows Goodwill to showcase the critical need for donations and what those donations mean for strengthening communities and preserving the planet.”
The Telly Awards were founded in 1978 to honor excellence and support creativity in local, regional and cable TV commercials. Non-broadcast video and TV program categories were soon added. Today, the Telly is one of the most sought-after awards by industry leaders, from large international firms to local production companies and ad agencies. This year’s Telly Awards was one of the most successful and competitive in the long history of the awards. The council received more than 13,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents, including the finest ad agencies, production companies, TV stations, cable companies, interactive agencies, organizations and corporations in the world.
“The Donate Movement PSAs demonstrate how Goodwill makes the most of the public’s donations and fuels local communities’ economies,” said Gibbons. “The PSAs were created by the talented and creative professionals on Goodwill Industries International’s marketing and communications team to help increase awareness of the need for conscious donations.”
To find out more about the Telly Awards, visit http://tellyawards.com.