Goodwill NYNJ raises $200,000 at 2nd "Evening of Treasures"

Proceeds from Goodwill Industries® of Greater NY and Northern NJ's annual fundraising event, with celebrity hosts Paulina Porizkova will support the nonprofit's employment and behavioral health services for thousands of individuals with disabilities and employment barriers in the NY metropolitan area

NEW YORK, April 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Goodwill Industries® of Greater NY and Northern NJ (Goodwill NYNJ) through its second, and 1^st in-person, annual "Evening of Treasures" event raised $200,000 to provide employment and behavioral health services for thousands of people with disabilities and other barriers in the New York City metropolitan region. The event, which celebrates sustainable fashion and the power of work, was hosted by legendary super model Paulina Porizkova, at the Tapestry Building in Hudson Yards in NYC on Thursday, April 28, 2022.

View photos of the event here!

Evening of Treasures included a festive thrift cocktail reception and fashion show of one-of-a-kind upcycled Goodwill creations by the Tommy Hilfiger brand, and designers Gigi Burris Millinery, Maxwell Osborne of anOnlyChild, and Dao-Yi Chow of Public School, as well as Design student Monica Palucci from SUNY's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). All garments featured in the fashion show, which were upcycled using textiles donated to Goodwill stores, were auctioned to benefit Goodwill services. In addition, the auction included a one-of-a-kind bag designed by designer Heron Preston as part of the HeronPreston x Mercedes collection. Experiences included Stylist session with Jacqui Stafford.

Revenue from the Goodwill Evening of Treasures, Goodwill stores and ShopGoodwill.com/NYNJ supports Goodwill NYNJ's placement, training, on-the-job coaching, and retention services that support individuals with disabilities and other barriers on their journey to employment. Goodwill NYNJ also helps individuals with mental health conditions stay healthy and on the job.

In 2021, Goodwill NYNJ provided employment services for nearly 10,000 people who are unemployed or underemployed, almost half of them people with disabilities. Also last year, Goodwill NYNJ placed 821 people in jobs, including 549 individuals with disabilities, a 17% increase from the previous year, outside its stores at hospitals and health care centers, tech and accounting firms, the warehousing and manufacturing sectors, and NYC agencies.

The event's upcycled red carpet featured, in addition to host Paulina Porizkova, Leonello Borghi and Sarah Hand of the Tommy Hilfiger brand, and guest designers, bold faced named attendees in upcycled and second hand styled outfits including designers Willy Chaviarria, Calvin Klein; Yeohlee Teng; Shawn Pean, June79; Felita Harris and Aja McCoy, Harlem's Fashion Row; Rinat Brobach; and Suzanne McKinsey, ABLEmade, as well as fashion industry insiders Steven Kolb and CaSandra Diggs, CFDA; Josh Peskowitz, #menswear; Fern Mallis; Linda Levy, The Fragrance Foundation; Lauren Singer, environmental activist, entrepreneur, and blogger; and Maria Torres-Springer, NYC Deputy Mayor among others.

The event feature stories of people with disabilities and other employment barriers who Goodwill NYNJ has supported on their journey to employment and independence for years or even decades. Individuals like Chshone, a 49-year-old man with an intellectual disability, who came to Goodwill at age 21, and thanks to the nonprofit's services, got his first job and 3 decades later, continues to support him in his career.

Goodwill NYNJ's environmental impact:  In 2021, Goodwill NYNJ helped people re-purpose more than 40 million pounds of pre-loved clothing and home goods, successfully diverting them from the landfills. Its sustainable retail operations saved nearly 59k metric tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.

According to The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) – a charity that works with governments, businesses and communities to improve resource efficiency – approximately 140m worth of clothing goes into landfill each year. Alice Wilby, a sustainable fashion consultant and spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion tells The Independent that this kind of reliance on landfill results in "wasting perfectly usable textiles, slowly leaking toxins into the earth and microfibers into the waterways" and contributes to methane emissions.

"At Gigi Burris Millinery, local, sustainable craftsmanship is the heart of our brand. With Goodwill NYNJ's efforts to pour into their local community with employment opportunities and to foster sustainability by giving fashion items a second life, the partnership made perfect sense. It's been a fun creative challenge to create a ready to wear look in addition to a hat - with the full ensemble created from upcycled Goodwill items," said Gigi Burris.

"We were excited to join Goodwill's Evening of Treasures since this is exactly what we do in our business. The process was quite fun, having access to the Goodwill stores to source the materials for these creations. We created these looks using needle punch, taking apart shirts to create new fabrics along with deconstructing. We wanted to push the envelope a bit with the items that we selected—all the shirtings, fleece, French Terry—to create looks that are true to both brands. It was a fun experience," says Maxwell Osborne, co-founder & designer of Public School and founder of anOnlyChild.

"Goodwill's Double Impact means that our stores have a positive impact on the environment and our community. Goodwill gives people the training and resources needed to get jobs and lead independent lives," said Don Huber, chair of the Goodwill NYNJ Board of Directors. "'What do you do?' We ask this question because while our jobs may not define us, they can tell you about a person's interests and passions. We don't often think of the basic feelings of empowerment and self-worth that come from employment, unless and until we become unemployed. We think about that question all the time at Goodwill and we work to include an ever-growing number of New Yorkers who can answer the 'what do you do?' question with pride that Goodwill believed in them."

"Goodwill offers programs that help people with disabilities like autism, people living with mental illness, and our many friends and neighbors who are unemployed or underemployed to receive training and assistance to find, get, and keep jobs," said Katy Gaul-Stigge, president and CEO of Goodwill NYNJ. "Our retail stores help support these programs, but the fact is, we could not carry out our mission without philanthropic contributions from institutions and individual donors like you. Thank you for your time tonight, you all did such an amazing job of bringing the fun of thrift, the beauty of upcycling, with the meaning of social impact."

Evening of Treasures sponsors included:

$25,000 - Beyond Disabilities Circle
Amazon
Synoptek

$10,000 - Access and Empowerment Circle
Ice Miller
HUB International
Tusk Holdings
Kearney

$5,000
Signature Bank 

Magnolia Bakery provided dessert for the event.

About the guest designers: 
Gigi Burris 
Like the most famous milliners before her, Gigi Burris affirmed her craft in Paris as a student at Parsons. While there, she visited mercerie shops and became fascinated with the embellishments found inside. As a student under Leah Chalfen at Parsons School of Design in New York, and during her internship with the designer, Burris excelled in couture handwork and intricate handmade adornments. In her final year at Parsons, Burris was nominated for the Designer of the Year Award, with a collection of hats. The Gigi Burris label followed soon after. Burris has garnered significant following from the editorial world, and celebrities like Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Bella Hadid, Hailey Beiber, Keith Richards and Mahershala Ali. The brand has collaborated with fashion houses and launched partnerships with Disney, Theory and W hotels. A CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalist in 2014, Gigi Burris has been a CFDA Member since 2015.

AnOnlyChild  
AnOnlyChild is a New York label, founded in 2021 by designer Maxwell Osborne. Each collection is created entirely from deadstock materials. Osborne says, "While this process prevents us from recreating a consistency throughout the collection, we consider it to be an advantage. Each of our garments retains the soul of their fabric's previous life to form something unique, one-of-a-kind and sort of like an only child." The spirit of anOnlyChild is built around recreating lived experiences to form new ones. The collection is available at anonlychild.com and select pieces at Saks New York.

Public School 
Founded in 2008, PUBLIC SCHOOL redefined the landscape for tailored sportswear and is a New York story. Designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, born and raised in New York City, represent the convergence and restless energy of the city they live and work in, and their brand is a culmination of their upbringings, blending high and low references from fashion, music and art. In 2010, PUBLIC SCHOOL was part of the inaugural CFDA (Fashion Incubator) business development program. The brand's anti-prep and sharply tailored sportswear began to be noticed, and in 2013, the young brand had a breakout year: PUBLIC SCHOOL won the Swarovski Award for Menswear at the 2013 CFDA Fashion Awards and was named the winner of the 2013 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. PUBLIC SCHOOL received the CFDA's Menswear Designer of the Year Award in 2014. The brand also won the first Woolmark Prize (USA) for Menswear in 2014, and went on to claim the first International Woolmark Prize for Menswear in 2015. In 2015, Chow and Osborne were tapped to be the Creative Directors for DKNY, overseeing both menswear and womenswear until the end of 2016.

About Goodwill NYNJ: 
Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, Inc. (Goodwill NYNJ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates retail stores throughout the region powered by donations of clothing and household items. Goodwill NYNJ translates those donations into workforce development services for people with disabilities and the unemployed, and job training leading to employment. Annually, Goodwill NYNJ services build better lives for thousands of New York City Metropolitan Area residents and their families. For more than 107 years, the agency's mission has been to empower individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment to gain independence through the power of work. Learn more about Goodwill NYNJ at http://www.goodwillnynj.org; follow us on Twitter: @GoodwillNYNJ; and find us on Facebook or Instagram: GoodwillNYNJ. 

Contact: Jose Medellin | [email protected] | (646) 238-9133 mobile

SOURCE Goodwill NYNJ