Goodwill

I didn’t realize this company was started so long ago, but when I read about my character in “Hard Times” she mentioned Goodwill so I wanted to do further research. I think it is great that the company has made its living by helping others and employing people in need.

Goodwill Industries of Chicago was founded in 1919 with the mission "to provide a chance, not charity," to people society had labeled as unemployable, including thousands of soldiers returning from WWI. Goodwill responded by creating employment opportunities for veterans with disabilities and older workers displaced by the return of younger individuals. During the 1930s and the Great Depression, Goodwill’s number of stores grew to help more people. Goodwill led a number of opportunities for people in need in the area including a cooperative effort with the Red Cross that distributed food and clothing to needy families. They also offered hundreds of individuals temporary employment opportunities, helping them provide for their families during such hard times. The even developed a school of occupational therapy. Throughout the decade, an average of 130 workers were employed daily by Goodwill. In 1937, the official organization name became Goodwill Industries of Chicago and Cook County.