Behind the Scenes at Goodwill

I had the privilege of meeting with the marketing team at Goodwill on Wednesday and touring their facility in Grandview! One of the things we discussed the Grand Opening of their new High St. store which they asked me to be a part of! I am so excited! The current High St. location is moving just a little bit south at Hudson and High in the old Blockbuster building. The new store is going to be amazing so I hope you will all come out for the Grand Opening event on Saturday January 21st.

The meeting just made me even more aware at what incredible company Goodwill is. For people like us when we think about Goodwill we most likely think of their great retail stores but for thousands of disabled and less fortunate people in our communities the name Goodwill means so much more! I got a chance to tour the facility and saw so much good being done in that building!
The third floor of the building houses 25 disabled adults that need assistance. They also have 24 hr. on call service for individuals with disabilities who live at home. They have job assistance and job training. They even have a computer program for the blind. There are all kinds of programs for individuals with developmental disabilities of all ages. They have a gym and a trainer to help people get healthy and reduce medical bills. They have a whole area for older adults with developmental disabilities to do activities or they can earn money by working in the distribution center. They basically will help anyone who has any kind of barrier! Amazing! And the best part is that all of the money that goes into Goodwill Columbus stays in Columbus to help people in our community!

Here are some photos I took on my tour of the facility:

 This is the Goodwill Columbus headquarters and distribution center

 This chart helps the workers size items that are not labeled

 You just have to lay the item in the right area and measure from shoulder to shoulder

 This is Connie- a supervisor in the distribution center. She gave me the full tour! Thanks Connie!

 Tagging a Banana Republic sweater

 This fixture helps the workers get the tags on the clothing and not their fingers

 Connie demonstrating how the fixture works

 This is how they sort the clothing.

 One of the jobs is to sort hangers

 The workers get paid by how many items they tag. Each bag hold 20 tags. This helps them keep track! 

 This is the children's sorting area

Ahh! This makes me want to dig!

 All of the clothing gets put on rolling racks after they are sized and tagged and they are wrapped and put on the trucks to be taken to the stores.

 This is the break room/ dining facility/ dance hall

And because I know you always want to know... here is what I wore to the meeting (all thrift, of course!)

 jacket: Express via Goodwill $3.99

blouse: Goodwill $3.49

skirt: Volunteers of America $2.99

shoes: goodwill $3.99
earrings: gift $0

Total Cost: $14.46

A big thank you to Leslie, Amy, and Vivian at Goodwill for having me! I am so excited to work with you!

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