The Top Back-to-School Items You Didn't Know You Could Find at Goodwill®

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Most people know Goodwill as a place to donate their gently used clothing and household items. Many people also know that Goodwill provides job training and career services to millions of people, and that Goodwill stores are great places to find wonderful bargains. But perhaps you didn't know that Goodwill can help you with much of your back-to-school shopping needs, for kids of all ages.

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With that in mind, here's our list of the top back-to-school items that you might not realize you can find at Goodwill:

• Men's dress shirts that can be turned around and used as paint smocks for a preschooler's classroom
• Plastic crates and baskets that can be used as storage bins for school supplies
• Lamps for a college dorm room
• Guitars, horns or metronomes for the budding music student
• Calculators for the math student
• Sheets, blankets and towels for the college student
• Bicycles and helmets for riding to and from school
• Thermal and plastic drink bottles for students who bring their lunch from home
• Globes and maps
• Alarm clocks so that a student is not late for school

Not only do families get what they need when they shop at Goodwill, they also help others. The revenue from the sales of items donated to Goodwill funds job training programs and community-based services for people with disabilities and disadvantages, including youth who are at-risk, single mothers, veterans and seniors.

"It may not be foremost in your mind, but you're helping the people in your community when you shop at Goodwill," said Jim Gibbon, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International.

"Our job training and placement services helped more than 4 million people in 2011. That wouldn't have been possible without the revenue generated from the sales of donated items at our more than 2,700 stores throughout the United States and Canada."

For more great back-to-school items, visit www.goodwill.org and use the store locator to find the retail location nearest you.

"And while you're at it, why not bring in a bag of your unwanted items," said Gibbons. "You'll be among the approximately 79 million people who donate to Goodwill this year, further helping those who need our services."

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 North America's top five most valuable and recognized nonprofit brands as well as a leading social services enterprise. 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 2,700 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 2011, more than 4 million people in the United States and Canada benefited from Goodwill's career services. To find a Goodwill location near you, use the online locator at www.goodwill.org, or call (800) GOODWILL. Twitter: @GoodwillIntl. Facebook: GoodwillIntl.

SOURCE Goodwill Industries International