Did you know that Goodwill Industries is an international organization? And that Goodwill has locations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean? Each Goodwill operates autonomously, but we all share the common mission of providing training and job support in the communities we serve.
Members of Goodwill Industries of Korea (GIK) recently visited Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin and Metropolitan Chicago, the largest of the 161 Goodwill locations in North America. Their stops took them to see operations in Greendale, Racine and Chicago, with the goal of learning more about our retail and mission work.
On the first day, the group of ten individuals toured the Goodwill Center for Work and Training – Southwest Campus, including the E-cycle and DataShield operations, the Workforce Connection Center and Day Services. Presentations educated them about our EmpowerOne program, Goodwill Laundry and our Great Lakes operations. The Goodwill group from Korea made a presentation to the Milwaukee team about their history and operations.
In Racine, the team from Korea toured our Transportation and E-commerce operations, as well as the new Goodwill Outlet, the last chance for donated items to be sold to the public.
The final stop for the Korean contingent was our Goodwill Store & Donation Centers on Western Avenue in Chicago and North Riverside. The group learned about our process for donated items – from drop off to store shelves to shopper purchases. After that, the group toured our Goodwill Workforce Connection Center in North Riverside to see our mission in action as we help job seekers find employment.
Elizabeth McNally, Goodwill’s Vice President Public Policy & Board Relations, who helped to coordinate the visits, said, “It was a thrill for us to be able to share what we do here in Milwaukee and Chicago with the staff from Goodwill Korea, and to hear more about what they do. It really does show that the Goodwill mission and our belief in the power or work resonates around the world.”
GIK was founded in 2003 through efforts by Korean-American disability rights and religious leader Dr. Young Woo Kang and a former Goodwill executive. There are five organizations that make up GIK: Miral Foundation, Together Foundation, Hosanna Foundation, Suwon Central Foundation, and Changwon Namsan Church. They have a total of 18 stores.
For more information on the visit from Goodwill Korea, please contact Elizabeth McNalley, Vice President Public Policy & Board Relations, at elizabeth.mcnally@goodwillsew.com or (414) 847-4118.
Go back to the main page
