Teaching Goodwill and Compassion to Children This Back-To-School Season

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Helping children become compassionate citizens is of top priority for most parents and teachers. One of the easiest ways to inspire young people to be charitable this back-to-school season is to encourage secondhand shopping and donating to Goodwill®. The time before school begins offers a unique opportunity for parents to help their children decide what they no longer need and donate those items to Goodwill. At the same time, families can shop at Goodwill stores and online at shopgoodwill.com to find what their children need for school, including clothing, supplies, electronics, musical instruments, sporting equipment and more.

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Goodwill sells donations of gently used clothing, housewares and other items in its stores, and the revenues fund job training programs, and career and community-based services for people with disabilities, those who lack education or work experience, and others facing challenges to finding employment.

"When families donate to Goodwill, children make a powerful connection between the items they no longer need and how those items can help people in their community," said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "Goodwill encourages parents to use this opportunity to teach children socially conscious lessons they'll remember for the rest of their lives."

Goodwill has made it easy for families to donate, shop and calculate the positive impact of their donations, including:

• Using the Goodwill locator at www.goodwill.org and typing in their zip codes to find the nearest Goodwill donation centers and stores.
• Calculating the impact of their donations using the online Donation Impact Calculator (patent pending). For example, if a family donates a working computer, Goodwill can provide eight hours of on-the-job training to someone in their neighborhood.
• Learning which items can be recycled versus which items can be donated to Goodwill by playing the Donation Match Game. Children receive a certificate upon finishing the game and can work with their families to find more items around the house to donate to Goodwill.

The Donation Impact Calculator and the Donation Match Game are two tools of the Donate Movement, a global public awareness initiative that highlights the positive effect donating has on both people and the planet.

As families clean out their closets before school begins, it is a great time to start habits that will keep homes organized. Lorie Marrero, Certified Professional Organizer®, organizing expert for Good Housekeeping magazine and spokesperson for Goodwill's Donate Movement, can provide professional expertise to families on organizing and speak to the importance of donating the items they no longer need. She is also the author of the best-selling book, The Clutter Diet®: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life, and the creator of ClutterDiet.com, an innovative program that teaches people how to organize their closets, businesses and homes.

"By donating to and shopping at Goodwill, families can help the environment by diverting items from landfills and reducing energy consumption while putting people to work at the same time," said Gibbons. "More than 74 million donors have given their gently used items to Goodwill, which provided vocational services to more than 2.4 million people in 2010."

ABOUT GOODWILL INDUSTRIES INTERNATIONAL
Goodwill Industries International is a network of 165 community-based, independent agencies in the United States and Canada with 14 affiliates in 13 other countries. Goodwill is one of the nation's top five most valuable and recognized nonprofit brands as well as a leading social services enterprise (Source: Cone Nonprofit Power Brand 100, 2009). 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 2,500 stores and online at www.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 2010, more than 2.4 million people in the United States and Canada benefited from Goodwill's career services. Goodwill channels 84 percent of its revenues directly into its programs and services. To find your local Goodwill, use the online locator at www.goodwill.org or call (800) 741-0186. Facebook: GoodwillIntl Twitter: @GoodwillIntl

SOURCE Goodwill Industries International