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Since its founding in Boston in 1902 by Rev. Edgar Helms, a Methodist minister, Goodwill Industries has become North America's seventh largest nonprofit agency and a leading provider of education and career services for individuals who have been blocked out of the workforce.
The Goodwill movement was born in Richmond in 1923, through the work of the Richmond Methodist Board of the City Missions. Dr. J. T. Mastin and Reverend Samuel Coles borrowed a horse, fixed up an old wagon and began putting Richmonders to work in its first location at 1814 E. Grace Street. In 1932, Goodwill faded from the public as Amy Guy, known as Goodwill's modern day founder, formed the Citizen's Service Exchange in an old school house at 19th and Marshall Streets. Amy Guy's enterprise, with a budget of $4,800, was so effective during the Depression it earned her an invitation to the White House where she discussed the program with the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
The Citizen's Service Exchange and Goodwill shared strikingly similar goals and they merged in 1945 under the name of Richmond Goodwill Industries, Inc. The agency took many momentous leaps over the next several decades, including opening retail stores, establishing a donation collection system, creating an industrial services division and a one-stop job center. With each step, training and employment opportunities were expanded, bringing Richmond Goodwill Industries from the bottom third in ranking among Goodwills in North America, to the top third.
Today, with a volunteer board of directors and over 400 associates to provide the leadership, management and support to serve more than 5,000 individuals annually, Goodwill of Central Virginia is making great strides in the effort to help individuals become independent through the power of work. A beautifully remodeled main facility at 6301 Midlothian Turnpike, on the bus line, provides people in training with large bright workspaces for the clothing processing, and packaging, assembly and document destruction functions. The comprehensive Job Center is equipped with necessary tools to support training and employment services, as well as participating agencies, which provide specialized training and assistance to promote employability and support services for families.
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