History of Goodwill

From yesterday to today

A Proud History of Providing a "Hand Up, Not a Hand Out"

In 1902 Edgar J. Helms, a Boston minister, conceived the idea of collecting unwanted household goods and employing jobless men and women to refurbish them for re-sale in simple storefronts.

Dr. Helms famously said that he wanted to give people "a chance, not charity." The Goodwill concept of self-help worked and the movement gradually spread across the country. In the first 100 years, more than six million people achieved better lives by coming through Goodwill's doors.

In 1939 a Goodwill was established in Spokane, opening with $43 in debt, two helpers, and the Superintendent. All of them worked for six months without pay.  In its early decades, the Spokane Goodwill served primarily as a sheltered workshop for individuals with physical and developmental disabilities who cleaned and repaired donated clothing and household items for re-sale in a primitive store.

During the early 1980s, what was then known as Inland Empire Goodwill Industries was on the brink of financial failure and closing its doors. The local Board asked the dynamic new Marketing Director, Bobbi Johnson, to step up as CEO and see if she could turn things around. She accepted a six-month assignment-and retired in 2008 after a distinguished, 27-year career! She has been succeeded by Clark Brekke, her mentee at Goodwill.

As Goodwill's retail operations grew from small, "musty, dusty" stores filled with boxes and bins to clean, modern facilities, revenues increased dramatically, allowing the agency to build in more regional locations. The growth in retail funded the parallel expansion of services to individuals with barriers to employment, and Goodwill began community-based programs that offered more   opportunities to work outside Goodwill. Accreditation by CARF, the national Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission, has continued.

From near-banruptcy, our Goodwill has grown to serve annually more than 2500 people, to employ 500 people, and to put more than $14,000,000 back in the communities we serve.

National awards and local recognition of Goodwill's services and business success followed. Today the lobby of Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest's Spokane headquarters showcases dozens of plaques for the competitive awards Goodwill has won.