Goodwill Industries

Goodwill Industries-International was founded more than 100 years ago by Edgar James Helms, a Methodist minister in Boston, Massachusetts. In Boston, Helms sought ways to assist residents in the city’s impoverished South End. Helms collected used household goods and clothing in wealthier areas of the city and then hired and trained the poor and immigrants to repair the used goods. These donations were resold or given to the people who repaired them.

Since this time, Goodwill’s mission has grown into an international movement, improving the quality of life for disabled and disadvantaged individuals around the world.