GOLDEN YEARS

GOODWILL INDUSTRIES CELEBRATING GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY, HELPING THOSE IN GREATEST NEED

Goodwill Industries is celebrating its 50-year anniversary in Southwest Florida. Proceeds from its 30 stores, including the popular Sanibel shop, help those of us with disabilities, learning challenges and aging issues.

Jessica Estrada is exactly the person you’re hoping to help when paying for a purchase at the neighborhood Goodwill thrift store such as the Sanibel outlet.

The huge nonprofit celebrating its 50-year anniversary in Southwest Florida uses the proceeds from its 30 Goodwill stores ― and its e-commerce, cash donations, business services, sponsorships and federal grants― to help train, employ, educate, house and otherwise prepare those of us with certain learning challenges, disabilities and aging issues. Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida last year produced $36 million in revenue, using the money to help Jessica Estrada and nearly 42,000 others in Southwest Florida. Another 900 or so from five surrounding counties work for Goodwill Industries. The charity’s impact over five decades has been sweeping, especially for those least able to survive independently.

And there’s no argument that Goodwill stores bring joy and affordable choices for the tens of thousands of shoppers seeking school clothes or special finds. The Sanibel shop is popular with islanders and visitors seeking appropriate beach attire. The term “Goodwilling” has even become a verb. “Unbelievable,” Mike Jenkins says of services he received from Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida to help him start Mike’s Paradise Custom Bird Houses in North Fort Myers. He attended 18 weeks of classes in networking and finance management, all paid through Goodwill’s microenterprise program, he says. “They’ve done nothing but super-charge me.”

Goodwill itself was founded in 1902 in Boston by the

Rev. Edgar J. Helms. His goal as a minister was to help those with disadvantages and disabilities. The story is that Helms was appalled by the conditions immigrants faced at an inner-city mission in South Boston. He collected used household goods and clothing from wealthier neighborhoods, then trained and hired those with disadvantages ― the term was handicapped in the late 19th century ― to mend or repair the used goods. The items were then resold, and the revenue used to pay wages. He paid $4 per day to the laborers, issued $5 clothing vouchers when money was scare. Helms died in 1942, leaving behind 12 children. Some 1,500 visitors paid tribute at his memorial.

Goodwill Industries International today sponsors two annual national awards that honor staff members in local Goodwill agencies who exemplify Helms’ values of unselfish service, selfreliance and a strong work ethic. Goodwill International reports 82 cents of each dollar on programs and services. Aside from older programs, proceeds in Southwest Florida are used for camps ― a first-ever performance day-camp was staged this past summer ― sponsorship of a Florida hockey team for disabled players, and auto tech and culinary certification. It’s a massive operation with a board of directors and a reliable band of donors, certainly a cadre of loyal shoppers.

Goodwill in west Florida started in the 1950s in St. Petersburg, morphed to Southwest Florida in the 1960s.

GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA LAST YEAR PRODUCED $36 MILLION IN REVENUE, USING THE MONEY TO HELP JESSICA ESTRADA AND NEARLY 42,000 OTHERS IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA.

Volunteers at that time collected donated goods in burlap bags, asking for repairable shoes and clothing. Proceeds assisted those with physical and intellectual disabilities and other disadvantages such as poverty. The scope in 50 years has expanded a hundredfold beyond that to include schooling, housing for disabled adults and seniors, instruction for such small details as balancing a checkbook, for instance.

It gained full autonomy from Goodwill-Suncoast in St. Pete by the 1980s. Goodwill in Southwest Florida last year also helped more than 40,000 of us with teen outreach, business and job training/certification and much more. Goodwill, says Barbara Zirilli-Lonergan, who was enrolled in microenterprise workshops and today operates Zirilli’s Chilly Treats in Cape Coral, “gave me my start. Do I support Goodwill? Absolutely. It’s an amazing place.”

“NOW I LOVE LIFE, MY JOB, WORKING WITH PEOPLE AND SEEING A SMILE ON THEIR FACES. LIFE IS ALL ABOUT HELPING OTHERS.” ―JESSICA ESTRADA

Helms in his time described Goodwill Industries as an “industrial program as well as a social service enterprise ... a provider of employment, training and rehabilitation for people of limited employability, and a source of temporary assistance for individuals whose resources were depleted.” Today, Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida Inc. is one of 165 autonomous Goodwill agencies across the United States and Canada. Its reach in Southwest Florida touches those living in five counties.

In Estrada’s case, learning issues, poverty and a speech impediment induced missteps placing her at a disadvantage. Before the bad ride ended in 2013, Estrada had left school, was the mother of four children and was mostly in front of a television wasting the years. It was a dark and unbalanced period, she says, that poisoned her dreams and any hope that remained. Poverty within Fort Myers in some sectors is around 40 percent, according to federal tracking data, and the disability rates for poor men and women is about one-third. Goodwill often is their largest safety net.

So one day Estrada joined a friend at a Goodwill Job-Link Family Resource Center in Fort Myers. It’s where visitors develop the skills to find a job: About 260,000 people sought such ser vices at national Goodwill Job-Link Centers in 2015. Many of the jobs are menial or labor-intensive, but can build skills and a résumé, the basis for advancement in any workplace. Publix and Walmart employ such workers, as do others in food services.

Estrada’s random Job-Link visit morphed into a volunteer position with Goodwill, where she observed others struggling to leave the cycle of joblessness and poverty, she says. The lightbulb moment came as others in her situation found work, or simply refused to quit trying, she explains. Impressed with her work ethic and customer empathy, Goodwill hired Estrada in a Job-Link Center, her first part-time job. “I always doubted myself, pretty much gave up,” says Estrada, now 40 and directing Job-Link visitors to job databases and résumé services. Her efforts prompted Goodwill last year to award her the Chet Perry Breakthrough Achiever, so chosen for her sincere concern for others. “Now I love life, my job, working with people

The Palm Beach Boulevard store in south Fort Myers was a popular spot in the 1970s.

A first load of goods from Fort Myers headed to Tampa in the 1960s. Store openings (right) picked up steam in the 1970s. Today there are 30 in Southwest Florida. A truck bearing Goodwill's mission to assist back-drops a 1975 store opening. Newspaper publisher Chet Perry (right) helped in forming the Southwest Florida branch. An achievement award is given in his honor.

Job-Link Services helps Southwest Floridians fill out job apps, build a resume, prepare for an interview, locate possible employers and also provide computer access. The goal is to create an independent living situation. Pathways to Work provides services to adults with disabilities and who seek independence. Coaching includes skill training, learning to meet job requirements and social norms in the workplace. Other skills could include money management, computer navigation, communication and creative writing. JESSICA ESTRADA CLAY WETHAL

Jean Edmond (above) gets to the heart of Goodwill at one of its sales racks. True shoppers understand that with patience and a sharp eye, hidden treasures await them.

NATALIE GALINDEZ Publix and Walmart support Goodwill by providing meaningful jobs to those with disabilities. But the nonprofit also provides career training in auto tech, culinary and in care-giving. There are other programs to help budding entrepreneurs realize their dreams. It targets those with low or moderate incomes and features instruction for aspiring business owners. Some graduates are eligible for a small loan.

Goodwill stores and related enterprises such as online shopping in Southwest Florida last year collected some $36 million in annual revenue. Proceeds are used to assist 42,000 of us, services ranging from jobs and resume-building to affordable housing for seniors and those with disabilities. JUSTIN WININGS

Pre-season baseball is always a hit in Southwest Florida.

Fashion Through the Decades featured clothing and accessories from Goodwill's 30 stores in Southwest Florida. The event included recognition awards and fashion trends over the last 50 years. Kim Yape (above) was hired at Goodwill Industries in 1973. She's still with the nonprofit more than 40 years later.