Earth Day is Donate Day

ROCKVILLE, Md., April 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On this 43rd annual Earth Day, the environment has become an increasingly complex world of climate change, carbon offsets and emissions guidelines. While these big-picture issues can often seem far removed from everyday life, Goodwill Industries International encourages consumers to remember the widespread impact the simple act of donating goods can make.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090716/DC47803LOGO)

For more than 110 years, Goodwill has been an entrepreneurial leader, environmental pioneer and social innovator of the "reduce, reuse, repurpose" practice. Goodwill diverts more than two billion pounds of clothing and household goods every year from landfills by recovering the value in people's unwanted material goods and creating job-training opportunities for people in need of work. In addition, Goodwill and Dell's free computer recycling program, Dell Reconnect, allows people to make electronics donations knowing it's good for people and the planet. With more than 2,500 Goodwill locations participating, the Dell Reconnect program provides people with an opportunity to simply drop off used electronics (any brand in any condition) at a participating Goodwill location, and the trained staff will inspect the equipment and either reuse, refurbish or recycle it. More than 253 million pounds of computer electronics have been responsibly recycled since the partnership began in 2004.

In 2010, Goodwill launched the Donate Movement, a corporate social responsibility platform and public awareness movement that encourages consumers to think of donating used goods as just as essential to environmental responsibility as recycling paper and plastics. Via the Donate Movement microsite (donate.goodwill.org), users can calculate the social impact of their own clothing and household item donations through the patent-pending donation impact calculator, while a new feature on the site tracks how many pounds of usable goods Goodwill has diverted from landfills since January 2012 — currently totaling more than three billion.

"With Earth Day now four decades old, more Americans than ever before are concerned about environmental issues," said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "Yet it is easy to lose track of the ways that one person can make a difference. For more than a century, Goodwill has linked protecting the environment to helping people earn paychecks, support their families and strengthen their communities."

The Donate Movement website lets consumers see how much of an impact they can make on the planet by donating used goods. The website also provides a step-by-step guide on how to organize a donation drive at a campus, school or other location, gives bloggers the opportunity to raise awareness by joining the Donate Movement network, and provides resources on where to bring used goods. For more information, visit donate.goodwill.org.

ABOUT GOODWILL INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL
Goodwill Industries International is a network of 165 community-based agencies in the United States and Canada with 14 affiliates in 13 other countries. Goodwill is one of the top 25 most inspiring companies (Forbes, 2012). Goodwill agencies are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that fund job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 2,800 stores and online at shopgoodwill.com. Local Goodwill agencies also build revenue and create jobs by contracting with businesses and government to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packaging and assembly, food service preparation, and document imaging and shredding. In 2012, more than four million people in the United States and Canada benefited from Goodwill's career services. Goodwill channels 82 percent of its revenues directly into its programs and services.

To find a Goodwill location near you, use the online locator at www.goodwill.org, or call (800) GOODWILL. Follow us on Twitter: @GoodwillIntl and @GoodwillCapHill, and find us on Facebook: GoodwillIntl.

SOURCE Goodwill Industries International