Find My Goodwill

Delicious Décor

Cheerful cartoon breakfast foods with faces and limbs: orange juice, coffee, bacon, tomato, and sunglasses-wearing egg.

Well, it’s Friday, and I think we’ve all earned a little treat to reward ourselves for a week well spent. Go ahead and think of your favorite guilty pleasure food and let’s all have a moment. Now what else is on today’s to-do list? Maybe you should make plans to indulge in that yummy delight after you’ve accomplished your final tasks for the day. Food can be an incredible motivator, so let’s harness this desire and use it to drive us not just today, but in all we do throughout the week.

Career and Financial Advice for March 2016

Person drawing a career planning diagram featuring goals, experience, and interests connected to career.

The Goodwill blog’s career and financial advice posts have all moved to GoodProspects, but you can still get great advice on your job search, learn about career fields and connect with virtual career mentors. Here are some recent articles published this month—read each piece, share your thoughts, and join GoodProspects to take advantage of everything at Goodwill’s online career navigation portal!

My Story: Yolande Zabre

Professional woman with braided hair in an office, seated near a computer monitor.

My story begins in July 2010 when I arrived in London, Ontario from Burkina Faso in West Africa, where education for girls is not a priority. It is a very poor country with a lot of political corruption. I experienced quite a culture shock moving to Canada. I faced three main challenges on my journey to a better life: a language barrier, an educational barrier and a work experience barrier. I had two options: either fight or go back home to unknown ground. I decided to tackle my challenges.

Your Spring Cleaning Makeover Begins Here

Young woman between hanging clothes with a surprised expression against a pink background

Okay, friends. It’s that time of year again – spring cleaning! If you find yourself motivated to whip your home into shape, but need some direction, you’re in the right place. The hard part about this yearly ritual isn’t so much the scrubbing, dusting, and vacuuming (since those tasks are necessary year round), but the opportunity it creates to really comb through our belongings, discard (i.e. donate!) what we don’t need, and organize what is kept. We’ve got some great tips to share today that will help you tackle even the trickiest of organization situations and all of them will upgrade your space while also helping your neighbors.

Contact Congress and Help SNAP Recipients Find Work

Shoppers at a supermarket checkout; red shopping cart in the foreground as a cashier scans items.

You may have read a post earlier this week by guest blogger Ed Bolden from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on the startling fact that over half a million Americans are losing food assistance this year. His post notes, “Ultimately, Congress should eliminate or revise this harsh rule. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is often the last line of assistance for these individuals. It means the difference between eating and going hungry.” Now we’re asking you to urge Congress to take action!

On The Prowl for Wild Finds? Try Goodwill!

Red panda drinking from a black bowl on rocky ground; red fur and white facial markings.

I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who wasn’t absolutely charmed by at least one particular species of animal. Some identify as “cat people”, some as “dog people”, but most individuals seem to go gaga for basically any furry animal. Other critters, too, manage to fly, swim, or scamper into the hearts of humans without a whole lot of effort. There’s just some innate connection we feel with the other members of the animal kingdom that makes us want to include them in our lives. Today I want to celebrate that friendship, and what better way than by sharing some incredible Goodwill finds?

Leveling the Financial Playing Field for Everyone

Team members discuss a laptop screen during a business meeting; a blonde woman points at the display while two others listen.

Goodwill has provided job training and employment services since its founding more than 100 years ago. That is the heart of what we do to help Americans get back on track in good times and bad. However, there is more to what we do than helping someone who is out of work gain the skills they need to find a job. A job is just the beginning because for a lot of us, financial skills and security are just as important, especially when times are tough.

My Story: Randy Bakker

Smiling man in a blue apron in a commercial kitchen

I was born with hydrocephalus, a condition that caused pressure on my optic nerve, and I have been visually impaired most of my life. As a young man in the late 1970s, I enrolled in a work training program at Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa (Des Moines). I was hired as a dishwasher at the Iowa State Capitol, where I worked for 14 years. I later worked for the Iowa Department for the Blind for two years. But then I did not work for a period of about 10 years.

Going Green for St. Patrick's Day

Every March 17, I wake up, head to my closet to get dressed, and I’m surprised to see that there is not a green shirt in sight. “Ugh, that’s right!” I’ll remember, with frustration, thinking about how my lack of planning will get me pinched repeatedly throughout the day. How could I have let this happen again? You see, green just doesn’t look great on me and the other 364 days of the year pass perfectly fine without my incorporating green into my wardrobe. Then comes St. Patrick’s Day and I remember how I promised myself the previous year that I would just get something green to wear for one day to avoid all of the pain.

Going Green for St. Patrick’s Day

Green lettered pennant banner spelling ST. PATRICK'S against a brick wall.

Every March 17, I wake up, head to my closet to get dressed, and I’m surprised to see that there is not a green shirt in sight. “Ugh, that’s right!” I’ll remember, with frustration, thinking about how my lack of planning will get me pinched repeatedly throughout the day. How could I have let this happen again? You see, green just doesn’t look great on me and the other 364 days of the year pass perfectly fine without my incorporating green into my wardrobe. Then comes St. Patrick’s Day and I remember how I promised myself the previous year that I would just get something green to wear for one day to avoid all of the pain.

Help Hardworking Americans Receive Tax Returns on March 15

Elderly woman raises her hand in a discussion with colleagues in an office setting.

Each year the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program puts billions of dollars back in the pockets of low-income taxpayers nationwide. The VITA program is an IRS program designed to help low and moderate-income taxpayers complete their annual tax returns at no cost. The program was originally founded in 1971 and the concept is to provide local taxpayers with free tax return preparation by accounting students, in effort to provide both a valuable community service and a powerful hands-on learning experience for the accounting students. The program grew from a small group of dedicated accounting students to what is now a nationwide program that serves millions of taxpayers.