Local Goodwill stores are now expanding their business to the internet.
Shopgoodwill.com is their online, auction store. Think of it like Ebay, with the money going to straight to the Goodwill community.
Goodwill is taking their product to the shoppers on a platform that’s open 24/7 and only a click away.
“By visiting Goodwill South Texas dot com, you can follow our link and find unique items, art, antiques, collectibles, jewelry, high end clothing, purses, and shoes,” said e-commerce manager Stacy Younger.
“E-commerce online sales operates a lot like Ebay. The items that are donated are placed for auction that runs for 7 days, and then shipped or picked up by the customers that purchase them,” said Younger.
Shopgoodwill.com/corpuschristi started in 2011 with only one part-time worker. Seven years later, this unique program has grown to a staff of 23.
“We have the potential to have extreme growth over the next few years. Because we never close, we are open 24/7, 365 days a year, and everybody can always come and shop Goodwill day or night,” said Younger.
Not only is shopping online easy and affordable, but it’s great for Goodwill. More than half of Goodwill employees have some sort of barrier to employment, and their e-commerce operation provides help to anyone, with a special emphasis on job training for veterans and offers them employment opportunities.
“Most veterans who come to see us, they don’t even know about the program. Once they find out about the program, they are excited about it and being a part of the program, and know there are actually agencies out there who want to help veterans look for employment,” said Goodwill veterans employee consultant Keith Sanders.
“The more people that sign up for these programs, the more funding Goodwill will get from the VA or other organizations out there that do this. I am very grateful for that. I encourage anybody that thinks there is nothing out there for me, there is a place. You just have to come out and talk to the people in corporate office, and you may start that next day or next week. There is something for almost every one,” said veteran Kelly Hales.
The website not only features selected items from local stores but from Goodwills nationwide. In total, there are around 100 Goodwills nationwide that are participating in the online shoppingbusiness.
The Power of Work. Proceeds from the sale of donated items enhance mission-driven services for thousands of people in South Texas. In 2017, Goodwill served over 4,800 people through job training, employment placement and other community based services.
Maximizing Your Donations. Over 388,000 South Texans donated their gently-used items to Goodwill in 2017 to support our mission. Items posted on shopgoodwill.com/corpuschristi are hand-selected to maximize the value received for the donation. The more donations Goodwill receives, the more people will be served.
Goodwill Veterans Services (GVS), is a program funded in part by the Texas Veterans Commission. GVS serves veterans who are unemployed or underemployed by connecting them to jobs either in the community or within Goodwill.
