Thank You!

A Message from Goodwill’s President and CEO, David Lifsey

It may seem strange to some employees of other businesses, but among the things for which I know many of us are grateful this holiday season is the opportunity to continue working with our Goodwill and with each other. We are a business changing lives for the better, and that gives each of us an opportunity to rejoice. And while being grateful may seem like a lost art sometimes, I hope during this season each of us has the opportunity to tell someone we are grateful for them whether they are family, friends or co-workers. We are especially grateful for those of you who support our Goodwill whether you donate your gently-used items, shop at our stores, have taken advantage of the services we offer through Career Solutions or have hired one of our ready-to-work graduates. We say thank you for all you do to help others. What better gift to give at any time of year!

Mission Possible: Goodwill Industries Week

Courtesy of Goodwill Industries International

When Rev. Dr. Edgar J. Helms founded Goodwill Industries® in 1902, he couldn’t have envisioned our reliance on social media, nor the role it would play in educating the public about our mission. Yet, web sites, blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other new media have helped Goodwill® take its social entrepreneurship role to new heights.

Technology — once thought of as cold and impersonal — can actually make Goodwill’s mission more tangible and meaningful to you: our shoppers and donors, business and government partners.

The most dramatic example to date is the launch of the Donate Movement, around which people united for a common cause — protecting the environment through socially conscious donations. Goodwill’s groundbreaking Donation Impact Calculator  demonstrates the value of donations to the planet and to the people Goodwill serves through critical job training and career services.

So while the Donation Impact Calculator can show you how much job training your old sweater or bicycle can fund or how many pounds of usable goods are diverted from landfills, our Success Stories lets you see someone who has earned a job or overcome an obstacle that kept him or her from succeeding in the workplace.

During the first week of May, which marks the 60th Anniversary of Goodwill Industries Week, we want to thank you again for the part you play in our history and in our future. Your continued support keeps alive a century-old vision that we all have a role to play in protecting the planet and transforming lives through the power of work.

Mission Possible: Goodwill Values

David Lifsey, President and CEO

In our Goodwill Employee Handbook there is a section about the company’s Core Values. The second point expresses our promise to treat people with dignity and courtesy “at all times.” We don’t specify which people. We mean everyone, and we mean all the time.

Rules serve many purposes, but chief among them is the desire to ensure that all employees are treated with dignity and courtesy. Dignity comes into play as we strive to apply our rules consistently, no matter what an employee’s background, job title or time with Goodwill. Even when rules are broken, our policies make sure the individual who violated policy is treated with dignity.

Courtesy has to do with how we apply those rules. Our list of rules includes trying to reach resolutions that are respectful and courteous, allowing for different viewpoints to be expressed and heard. I like working in a respectful place. I like the fact that we treat each other with dignity and respect and with an eye toward courtesy. I think our Goodwill can serve as a fine example for other businesses.

What core values are important to you in the workplace? How do you practice these values every day?

Mission Possible: Success That Counts

David Lifsey, President and CEO

I wasn’t a Goodwill employee long before I learned that success means many things. Until I came here, I thought of success as having a lot of money, won/lost records and items that I’ve accumulated. But Goodwill has taught me that success is something very different, often not measured in money or things, but in accomplishments, confidence and hope.

Success can be learning to ride a bus on your own, getting to work on time everyday or hanging just one more piece of clothing today than yesterday. Success can also mean earning a fresh start and having paid for past mistakes. It’s gaining new friends who appreciate you for who you are, not what you can do for them, having your own home and supporting family.

Our Goodwill is in the success business. Sure, we open stores, hire more people and build new buildings. That’s really not so much success as it is accomplishments that allow us to achieve our real success which is measured in having more than 1,400 employees who work for Goodwill because of our mission. We served more than 11,000 people last year who turned to us for help finding and keeping a job and building a reputation that allows people to feel good when they donate to us.

There is a needlepoint piece framed on my office wall. It defines success. Among the measures it touts as signs of success are these, “To leave the world a bit better – by a redeemed social condition, (and) to know even one life has breathed easier; this is to have succeeded.”

Our Goodwill is in the success business; success that counts.

How do you define success?

 

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?

Mission Possible: Barry Williams Visits and Experiences the Power of the Goodwill Mission

David Lifsey, President and CEO

It is interesting to interact with people who think they know about Goodwill, but who learn they don’t know the whole story.  It is also fun to see the surprise in their eyes when they see what we do.

A good example occurred when Barry Williams, Greg from the popular TV show “The Brady Bunch” toured our Goodwill earlier this year.  As we were riding down in the elevator at our plant, I asked Mr. Williams what he knew about Goodwill.  Like most people, he was familiar with us as a place to donate clothes and other items, and he knew we operated stores where people could find bargains.  Once we walked through the door into the plant, all he could say was, “Wow!”

He was surprised and pleased to learn of our mission, and how you work hard each day to open doors of opportunity for people who want and need a chance.  It was also clear he felt good about his donations to Goodwill in his home city of Los Angeles.  He enjoyed meeting many of our employees and graciously signed autographs while he was walking through the plant.

What we do in Goodwill is important.  Providing a chance for each of us to work is right up there as one of the most important things a business can do. Work provides for independence.  If you are earning your way in life you have more freedom to choose what you will do than if you are dependent on someone else for your money.  It is important that we make sure people know about us and our mission.  The more an individual knows, the better they feel about donating or shopping.

It was nice to meet Mr. Williams because of his “star power”.  It was even nicer to see him come to appreciate the power of the Goodwill Mission.

Mission Possible: Social Enterprise

David Lifsey, President and CEO

There’s a new term that’s gaining momentum, both in the for-profit and not-for-profit world.  That term is social entrepreneurship and at its core, it places emphasis on conducting business for the greater good, for social change. The concept can be applied to both not-for-profits such as our Goodwill, and by for-profit companies, which often rely on corporate earnings as a measurement for success and financial gain.  This same business principle can be applied to a not–for-profit’s mission, like our Goodwill, to ensure we are gaining the most for our clients through our mission.

It seems that any not-for-profit that is successful in meeting its mission has skills, services or products that could be elevated to bring in money for mission and may have market value beyond its walls.  Finding creative ways to market those elements will bring new money to the not-for-profit and that new money will allow for expansion of mission services and freedom to venture into new areas of service.

Certainly applying business principles has allowed our Goodwill to expand our mission.  We can employ more people, develop programs in response to community need, and individualize our services with much more freedom with money we earn than with the money we once received from government agencies or community support organizations.  Social enterprise is a smart way for our Goodwill to continue providing value to the clients we serve.

Mission Possible: I will remain as Goodwill’s President and CEO

“I have changed my mind about retiring, and our board has graciously allowed me to do that,” was the message David Lifsey sent to Goodwill Industries International in September.  Months after informing our Board of Directors that he planned to retire as president and CEO at the end of the year, Lifsey had a change of heart.

I have asked our board of directors to allow me to retract my request for retirement.  They have graciously accepted my request, and I will be allowed to remain as president and CEO of our Goodwill.

Our Goodwill enjoys many exciting opportunities for growth.  At the top of the list is the opening of our Career Solutions Building followed by the search for new sites for stores and increasing our business.  I have said many times that we are fortunate to be a part of a company that, after 50-plus years in existence, still faces its most exciting days.

As I neared the date of my retirement, and evaluated what life would be like without actively participating with the good people I’ve worked with throughout my years at Goodwill, I realized I had made a mistake.  Leaving a job, let alone a career that spans more than 40 years, is never an easy decision.  I came to the realization that I enjoy coming to work every day and I’m not ready to stop growing Goodwill and sharing the success of our clients and employees.

As we move ahead I will relish the many opportunities we have to work to expand our mission.  The spirit of our employees and the reward of seeing our clients succeed continue to drive me in my job.  We have important work to do and I look forward to being a part of that work.