Goodwill Industries

Goodwill Industries Serving Southeast Nebraska Inc.’s mission is willing workers employed and community resources maximized. Goodwill’s programs support individuals with barriers to employment by providing services which equip them with the tools needed in order to obtain employment, thus adding to lower unemployment rates and less reliance on government assistance within the Lincoln community. Additionally, Goodwill contributes to ecological balance through massive recycling efforts of unsalable textiles and other products. The community can support Goodwill all year long by donating their gently-used items, shopping at Goodwill Stores and making tax-deductible financial donations. The sale of donated goods remains the greatest source of funding for programs Goodwill provides.

Goodwill in Lincoln was founded in 1932 by Miss Eleanor T. Miller who traveled to Boston, Massachusetts to study the Morgan Memorial Goodwill, founded by Edgar J. Helms in 1902.

The idea of creating Goodwill as part of Lincoln’s social services programs was presented in July of 1932 to the Community Chest (later to become United Way). Lincoln-Lancaster County Goodwill (known today as Goodwill Industries Serving Southeast Nebraska, Inc.) was formally incorporated on September 15, 1932. Today Goodwill has 180 plus member organizations in the United States and Canada and 53 associate member organizations in 37 nations all over the world.

Goodwill recognizes that services provided by peer agencies prepare people served by Goodwill to better succeed in Goodwill’s employment programs.  Agencies in Lincoln that currently receive funding from Goodwill Industries Serving Southeast Nebraska, Inc. are Heartland Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Arc of Lincoln, Community Justice Center, Lincoln Literacy, and YWCA-Lincoln’s Job Outfitters program.

Goodwill also makes the strongest effort to recycle items that cannot or do not sell in its retail stores. In 2010, Goodwill Industries Serving Southeast Nebraska, Inc. became a member of the Dell Reconnect Program, which allows Goodwill to responsibly recycle residential computers and related equipment at no cost to the donor. Some of the other materials Goodwill is able to recycle include textiles, electronics, metal, toys, shoes, and clear glass. In 2013, Goodwill diverted 4.8 million pounds of materials from the landfill.