Bridal Blog: What does Goodwill have to do with wedding season?

NaTisha Moultry, Community Relations Manager

It’s that time of year around here. It’s my favorite time of year. What I like to call wedding season. When I mention this most people ask, “Don’t you work for Goodwill? What does Goodwill have to do with wedding season?” The answer is simple. “Everything.”

Once a year we host the Goodwill Wedding Gala. Area bridal stores donate wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, flower girl dresses and wedding accessories to be sold at the gala to benefit the Goodwill mission. This years’ gala will be held on March 19th from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at our Rivergate Goodwill store located at 2101 Gallatin Pike N. in Madison, Tennessee.

Goodwill’s Wedding Gala reminds me of how excited I was to plan my own wedding. However, I remember that everything was so expensive. I really got carried away with spending. Now I have learned so much after helping many family members and friends plan weddings about how to save for their march down the aisle. Watching the ladies from last year try on gowns and walk away with their dream gown for less just made me so happy. Now those extra dollars saved can go towards other wedding expenses.

All gowns will be priced at $400 or less. That’s a huge savings because some of the original prices of the gowns were more than $3,000. Not to mention that Brides are not only getting a great deal on their wedding gown, but they are also contributing to great a cause. People often think of Goodwill as a place to shop. However, because of donations and events like the gala, we are providing jobs and training to people in the community.

The Brides Came, They Shopped, They Bought! View the video from the 2010 Bridal Gala!

Mission Possible: Ripple Effects

David Lifsey, President and CEO

Our Goodwill has come to view ripples, and the circles that follow as a drop falls into the water, as something of a company mascot, not as exciting as a bear or tiger, perhaps, but meaningful for us nevertheless.  The significance is the spreading impact of a single event, and for us, that event is a job.

Each day we have the privilege of working with people who may have believed a job was beyond their reach.  Sometimes their reasoning was elusive, at other times the impact of joblessness was all too familiar.  And, for whatever reason they were without work, the symptoms and outcomes were very similar, and very distressing.  It may have been utility bills that were unpaid, rent that was in arrears, food that was in short supply, children who didn’t have all they needed in the way of clothes, school supplies or toys.  Even more devastating have been the instances we have witnessed in which a family was destroyed by a parent’s leaving the home and, the heartbreak when children were removed from a home.

However, a job becomes the pebble dropped into the water of a life, and the ripples begin to spread.  Having money to spend after receiving a paycheck for work, provides an individual with a sense of liberation, of self determination, and self respect that cannot come from being economically dependent on others, whether it’s family, charity or through government services.

Thanks to the generous donations of used, but still useable clothing and household goods by the people in the areas we serve, Goodwill has the privilege of seeing the ripples form around a job and spread to benefit individuals, families and communities.  Every day that goes by we see the value of a job and resulting economic independence in the lives of our employees and clients.  And every day, we are grateful to our donors, shoppers, employers and employees who make our work possible.

Have you calculated your impact?

Career Scoop: Conquering Computers

By Tom Lee, Career Solutions Trainer

Whether we intend to or not, we all make assumptions. A chef assumes anyone could scramble an egg. A mechanic assumes anyone should be able to change a flat tire, and a computer instructor might assume anyone, in today’s world, can use a mouse and access the Internet. I plead guilty to the latter and confess that’s exactly how I felt three years ago.

Teaching Intro to Computer courses at Goodwill has been a real eye opener… fortunately, in a positive way! In the three years I have been training clients at Goodwill, I have come to the realization that not everyone has access to a computer and may never have had access to a computer until coming to Career Solutions. But having access to the equipment doesn’t mean one knows how to use it. Just like having all the ingredients readily available to bake a cake doesn’t mean someone can bake a cake!

I have met a variety of individuals all over the middle Tennessee area who are computer deficient, if not illiterate. Many cannot use a mouse; many don’t know what a desktop is; some don’t have e-mail and have no idea what an attachment is; and an alarmingly large percentage have never heard of Google!

But despite all this, these individuals share one commonality. They recognize their deficiency and have a desire and thirst to learn! They want to absorb as much as they can in the given time period to make them more marketable, and especially, more computer proficient. It is this drive and determination that I so frequently experience and witness and that makes what I do so rewarding.

We all have weaknesses. Recognizing those weaknesses is important. Setting a plan or goal to address that weakness and improve it is even more vital. It might be as simple as taking an Intro to Computer course at Goodwill. And as I tell my students, don’t worry about breaking the computer. You won’t… and even if you do, life will go on!

What are your improvement goals? How are you growing your skills?

The Making of the Goodwill TV Commercials

By Jimmy Chaffin, Partner, DVL Public Relations and Advertising

Several years ago DVL had the pleasure of creating a new advertising campaign designed to capture and explain the mission of Goodwill and how what you give provides jobs and changes lives.

Our approach was simple:  let the Goodwill employees’ whose lives have been changed tell you their own stories and explain that when you donate your gently-used items, you give far more than a donation. When you give to Goodwill, you give confidence, dignity, purpose, hope and happiness.

The popularity of the first campaign has now become a series featuring dozens of Goodwill employees.   Through the years we’ve had the honor of flying an American flag with Steven, delivering cookies with Pam, shooting pool with Teresa, sharing dinner with Rai, going fishing with Miss Currie, and reliving Byron’s wedding day, just to name a few.

This year we met Tonya and spent the day enjoying her son’s baseball game.  We also met Robert and his family who, despite all being blind, enjoy going bowling together.  But Robert isn’t just a bowler, he’s also a singer who composed and performed his own original song, “It’s a Good Day.”

Each year we meet brings a host of inspiring new people who share their amazing stories.  People, who despite being disabled, handicapped, disadvantaged, homeless or a facing host of other barriers, have reached out to Goodwill and found help.

They will tell you how blessed they are, how much they enjoy going to work every day, how much they love the people they work with and that Goodwill really has changed their lives.

Our agency is fortunate to share in these moments and have a relationship with a client that provides an opportunity to participate in something that truly makes a difference.  Because something that started out as a way to show how a donation changes others’ lives has turned into something that has also changed ours.

Thank you Goodwill for changing lives.