Goodwill® Applauds U.S. Mayors’ Resolution to donate goods to divert items from landfills

Goodwill is engaged with communities around the country in fulfilling this year’s U.S. Conference of Mayors’ (USCM’s) Resolution #47. The resolution encourages an unprecedented public awareness movement to donate goods to legitimate nonprofit organizations such as Goodwill to divert landfill waste. This call to action urges people to protect the environment, benefiting the local economy and supporting job training and placement. Connecticut mayors Ed O’Brien of West Haven, Toni Harp of New Haven, Harry Rillings of Norwalk, Marcia Leclerc of East Hartford, Daniel Drew of Middletown, Robert A. Mezzo of Naugatuck, Bill Finch of Bridgeport, Toni Harp of New Haven, and Scott Jackson of Hamden submitted the resolution.

The USCM resolution encourages citizens in local municipalities to donate used goods to organizations such as Goodwill. By accepting donations, these organizations demonstrate a positive economic impact on the community. Often, municipalities struggle with the high costs related to the handling, hauling and disposal of goods to landfills that could be reused and repurposed. Donating such items to organizations that use donated goods to promote a local mission diverts them from landfills, saving money for the municipality and providing much needed services, including career training to community residents. Through the process of donations, community residents will help the environment and, in turn, will be supporting legitimate nonprofit organizations like Goodwill, which use donations to support community-based programs and other important social services for people who are unemployed or underemployed. Like the USMC resolution, Goodwill has for more than 110 years been committed to protecting the environment and strengthening communities.

“Since 1902, Goodwill has been a pioneer of the ‘reduce, reuse, repurpose’ practice, to better serve the environment by extracting the value of donations to support local community needs,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “This resolution demonstrates that mayors across the country recognize the environmental and social significance of decreasing goods to landfills.”

Goodwill’s donation-resale model extends the life of textiles, clothing and goods. Last year, Goodwill placed nearly 262,000 people into jobs in fields such as banking, health care, retail, technology, and other high-growth fields. In addition, Goodwill provided social services, including child care, financial counseling and mentoring to 9.8 million people. Goodwill’s model creates thousands of jobs and contributes to the economic health of communities while preserving resources and the environment, and reducing tax-paying citizens’ reliance on public assistance. Last year, Goodwill diverted more than 3 billion pounds of donated goods and textiles from landfills. These efforts are in part why Forbes Magazine named Goodwill one of its top 25 most inspiring companies two consecutive years.

“The goal of the resolution is to recover the value in people’s unwanted goods and divert them, thereby having a positive economic impact on local communities,” said Mayor Ed O’Brien. “The US Conference of Mayors looks forward to hearing about the results from the nonprofit enterprises that fund their missions through the revenues from donated goods, and the communities that benefit from those missions.”

To view the resolution, visit http://usmayors.org/82ndAnnualMeeting/media/resolutions-final.pdf (page 91).

About Goodwill Industries International

Goodwill Industries International is a network of 165 community-based agencies in the United States and Canada with a presence in 14 other countries. 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 3,000 stores and online at shopgoodwill.com®. Goodwill also builds revenue and creates jobs by contracting with businesses and government agencies to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packaging and assembly, food service preparation, and document imaging and shredding. In 2013, more than 9.8 million people in the United States and Canada benefited from Goodwill’s career services. Goodwill channels 83 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 find us on Facebook: GoodwillIntl.