Spring Cleaning with a Purpose
Who ever really wants to participate in Spring Cleaning each year? Personally, it is one of the most dreaded time of the year. I almost fear Spring even though I love it so much. Beginning in early November I begin the planning of all that needs to be done. At this point, I am excited and gung-ho on the whole idea. Then the time comes and I feel drained at the thought of going through all of our unused and unneeded items. This is a now yearly thing with our family until now!
After getting (much needed) motivation from Goodwill’s job creation, it became more like a mission that our family could not dismiss.
Over the past several years, most of us have had a family member, friend, acquaintance struggle in this economy. Either they have lost a job or struggled to find employment. And if not someone you know personally, really, all you have to do is turn on the TV or pull up social media to see the struggle. It is real.Goodwill’s career centers, training programs, and staffing operations give people the resources, skills, and confidence that changes thousands of lives each year.
So how can you help to be a part of this growth and effort in your own community? It’s easy! Donate to Goodwill = create jobs!
This “family mission” not only helps in clearing out the clutter, but we are giving back to those in our community too. By donating to Goodwill lets me multi-task with ease and best of all, with purpose! As with most families, I am able to part with things much easier than the kids, but allowing them to learn how they are helping others is a wonderful life-lesson. They soon realize that they don’t need all those toys, books, and such that they haven’t touched in so long. We usually are constantly saying “Where in the world did this come from?” and “Is our stuff duplicating itself on its own?” It becomes funny after a while, but yet it is a scary thought. How in the world did we acquire so much stuff in one year?
Knowing These Facts Helped Our Family
Thanks to the programs and support services made possible by donations of clothes and household items, Goodwill helped place more than 312,000 people in jobs in the United States and Canada in 2015 – that’s one person finding a job every 23 seconds of every business day.
Why do I donate? Because what I may not want or have a use for may be perfect for someone else! If we have perfectly good items that can be loved by someone else, why not help our community?
If you are not sure where your local Goodwill is, you can use the Goodwill Locator App available for Android and iOS devices and at http://www.goodwill.org/ (click “Explore Our Map” on the homepage). Simply input the items you’re donating to calculate the number of hours of career counseling, on-the-job training, résumé preparation, financial planning classes, and other services you’ve helped provide people facing challenges finding employment. When jobs thrive, communities thrive.
Last year, nearly 2 million people engaged in face-to-face Goodwill services to advance in their careers. More than 35 million people accessed education, training, mentoring and online learning tools offered by Goodwill virtually to strengthen their skills and gain industry-recognized credentials.
We have done our part! Now it is time for you to do yours! Tag us on your social media posts with a photo of your Goodwill donations using #DonateStuffCreateJobs.