‘When you donate, somebody works’

By: Abdulraheem Alhusami

Goodwill Industries is opening a new store in Windsor and offering around 60 jobs.

Goodwill Industries in Essex Kent Lambton is the oldest Goodwill in Canada. They opened in 1933 in Sarnia expanding to Chatham in 2003 and then to Windsor.

$5,000,000 is going towards the new Goodwill Industries store which is expected to open on May 31, 2018 on 11145 Tecumseh Rd. E. Around 109,000 people have donated to Goodwill Industries every year.

“We expand because of the generosity of people and the developer,” said Kevin Smith, the CEO of Goodwill Industries-Essex Kent Lambton.

Goodwill currently employs 256 people and the number is about to grow to over 300 with the opening of the new location in Windsor.

“Every day, we receive 200 piece of clothing every hour,” said Smith.

He said that donations are processed within 24 hours and those that are not in perfect condition get recycled in Chatham and then shipped to Africa which also creates jobs there.

Goodwill is in need of donations such as clothing and books to help with their new store opening. Even old books gets sents to Africa where they are used for schools.

“It is important to donate to Goodwill because 100 per cent of the donations go to creating jobs,” said Crystal Fach, a Goodwill Industries employee.

As for future plans for Goodwill, Smith said it depends on the minimum wage and how the economy is going to be.

“It is a very very big challenge,” said Smith.

Goodwill encourages those who are looking for a job to apply on their website.

“Our mission is to change people’s life through the power of work,” said Smith. “We need you to trust us.”