Through community engagement, Goodwill builds and maintains strategic relationships that influence positive social outcomes in local communities where we operate businesses.
Goodwill delivers local impact by implementing community engagement initiatives designed to build meaningful relationships with local communities and stakeholder groups important to our mission. Community Relations Councils were established in 2019 and are comprised of cross-functional groups of employees committed to driving engagement activities at the local level.
Acts of Goodwill was launched in March of 2019 as Goodwill’s employee volunteer program. It was designed to provide employees with opportunities to engage more deeply in the communities where we live and work. To celebrate our centennial, our goal was to create 100 Acts of Goodwill that address barriers to work by volunteering with local community organizations and in our very own mission programs.
Employee volunteers served individuals facing barriers to work at 43 partner organizations. By year-end, employees recorded 136 completed Acts of Goodwill, addressing the following community needs:
84 Housing and Hunger
18 Employment and Financial Stability
16 Health and Wellness
16 Education and Literacy
2 Environment
Our second annual Goodwill Community Day was held on September 12, 2019. Community Day is an opportunity to engage community leaders and our employees. Through tours and open houses, Goodwill shared local impact stories with more than 100 community leaders, further connecting them with our mission.
Additionally, nearly 1,800 employees participated in activities designed to help them better understand how their work at Goodwill helps to grow our local impact.
Goodwill worked to strengthen and cultivate partnerships with key organizations. In 2019, these organizations included Racine Unified School District, Holiday House, Milwaukee Public Schools, United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County, Lead2Change, Convergence Resource Center, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, Acts Housing and Thresholds, Inc.
