Goodwill International Expands in 1920s
With the Methodist church backing expansion, by 1920 there were 15 Goodwills, including Morgan Memorial. In subsequent decades, the relationship with the church would gradually lessen as Goodwill sought leaders from outside the ministry, and as federal funding requirements made it necessary for Goodwill to become a more secular organization.
Goodwill Southern California Opens its Very First Store
That day, 200 shoppers purchased goods totaling $126. In 2001, revenues from retail operations and other sources of income amounted to $145 million. Today, Goodwill Southern California operates 72 retail stores, 44 donation centers, 4 WorkSource centers, and 23 job service sites including 3 multi-service campuses, throughout Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The Goodwill Name is Born
Representatives from a workshop in Brooklyn, NY, come to Boston to learn Helms’ techniques. They adopt the Morgan Memorial way and Helms adopts their name – Goodwill Industries
Goodwill gets trucks
Four-wheeled motorized trucks are first put into service for Goodwill
Goodwill Industries Founded
Reverend Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister and founding father of Goodwill Industries, with the help of his congregation, collected used household goods and clothing being discarded in wealthier areas of the city, then trained and hired the unemployed or bereft to mend and repair them. The products were then redistributed to those in need and those who helped to repair them.
