During the Container Store’s Kiss Clutter Goodbye sale, they’ve partnered with Goodwill to help you declutter and live the organized life, while helping to change the lives of people Goodwill supports. Now through May 15, donate at least $5 at checkout and get a FREE bag* to take home as a reminder to declutter and give to Goodwill all year long! Plus save on hundreds of products to help you do life organized.
READ MORE from Kiss Clutter Goodbye with Goodwill® and The Container Store®
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.
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.
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!
READ MORE from Contact Congress and Help SNAP Recipients Find Work
The Great Recession meant lost jobs, shrinking incomes, and uncertainty for millions of Americans. While struggling families faced tough decisions like how to pay the rent or cover other basic expenses like buying school supplies for their kids, one thing many of them didn’t have to worry about was keeping food on the table each day.
READ MORE from Over Half a Million Americans Losing Food Assistance This Year
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?
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.
READ MORE from Leveling the Financial Playing Field for Everyone
On my way into work this morning, I made my usual stop at Dunkin’ Donuts and bought a medium $2.11 cup of coffee for the hour ride into work. At 7:08 am, I had already spent more money on a cup of coffee than many individuals in America have available to spend in an entire day. I was thinking about this more, having just read $2.00 A Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, by professors Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer. $2.00 A Day is readable, understandable and enlightening.
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.
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.
