I'm morgan I love to sing wirte and help others I find it exciting to donate cloths or other items to a place like goodwill i would love to volunteer. I'm not quit sure how old you have to be to work for goodwell but most defiantly i would love to volunteer.
"Mission:
Our job will be done when every person in the community has the opportunity to live to his or her full potential and to attain personal and economic self-sufficiency."
Can this mission be accomplished when GWD takes advantage of the disadvantaged and/or disabled workers by engaging in various forms of wage theft, in violation of Colorado wage and hour laws as well as Federal Fair Standard Labor Act ?
Wage Theft is a silent crime often going undetected. It is easily accomplish when your employee turn over exceeds 70%, you do not provide employees access to their daily/ weekly time records and managers edit payroll software without employee knowledge.
When GWD's management assumes it's disadvantaged employees are ignorant, then your donations go to fund numerous lawyers trying to snuff the little guys who just wants to be paid their meager wages for hours worked and support their families without retaliation.
There is incredible potential for good to be done, but not unless some serious change takes place. In a down turned economy a local non profit entity taking in almost $51 million in revenue in 2011 and almost $46 million the year before, COULD afford to pay their worker FSLA wages, wouldn't you agree?
Your donations and good intentions then go to fund the salaries and bonus' of management- no different than any for profit corporation.
When researching a company to donate to, if the reviews are too good, than someone has probably deleted comments. If you're unsure contact a group that gives items FREE to the needy ie nice furniture to a homeless family moving to transitional housing, last year's work clothes to a group that helps people prepare for employment, a gift card for a meal to a senior, etc....
This non profit has a long way to go before their image can be restored. Most of the posted comments are by board members or administrative staff.
From a former employee - this is, like the red cross - a poster child for a charity gone bad. Its basically a profit seeking organization benefitting under the cover of nonprofit tax status. Overpaid executives, covered-up corruption scandals and mishandlling of funds, bureaucratic empire building at the expense of public service or even basic operational efficiency etc etc They do accomplish some good works but your money is better spent with other organizations although, given this web site's inability to accurately rate this operation, I would choose some other rating system to determine an efficiently run charity.
Over the last year, the prices have soared. This negatively impacts the "good" for the struggling folks who are trying to survive these economically challenging times. A recent blue card discount program rolled out with much confusion; I suppose the intent was that the quadrupling of prices in some cases might be overlooked by the 20% discount when spending over $25. The cashiers were not aware of the details. After one week and many explanations about how the program works, today I was told at the register that the senior discount was reduced on Mondays due to an email that was sent; this caused greater confusion and frustration for me as a patron. Is the mission to help our community? Then go back to charging reasonable prices. The hardest hit in this economy is the middle class and the elderly. We actually rely on being able to find what we need from the thrift stores.
I have been very impressed and moved my the leadership and community upliftment programs Goodwill is imvolved with. The organization fills a critical need in the Denver community, this is also done via substantially self sufficient means. I am extremely proud to be associated with this organization.
I have been involved with the organization for 3 1/2 years. Goodwill Denver has top-notch programs throughout, including their programs for people with disabilities, at-risk youth, and disadvantaged adults. This organization has true passion for their mission, and works every day to improve our community by helping its participants remove their barriers to the workforce and succeed at self-sufficiency.
ll of Denver does a fabulous job with their stores. Great quality and fantastic presentations/cleanliness. And they provide their retail earning to so many causes! Like youth education/development, disabled/disadvantaged people - old and young, and so many other worthy causes. They make our entire community a better place to live.
Goodwill Industries of Denver provides unsurpassed support to over 30,000 high risk students and adults in our community. This is a program that is designed to reverse the cycle of poverty in our community and it does! Goodwill assists at risk youth, struggling adults and individuals with disabilities. Goodwill provides career education curriculum in almost 30 high schools on the front range. A career focus at this early stage has proven that students are much more likely to be successful and self sufficient adults. Goodwill also provides career training and job placement for struggling adults so that they can get offwelfare and get a well paying job. Lastly, Goodwill provides employment opportunities, supported living services and day programs for individuals with disabilities. And through our donation programs, millions of pounds of goods were kept out of landfills. Goodwill Industries of Denver is a shining star of support to our community! I am a Board Member that is very proud to be associated with a program that does so much good for our community.
My experience with Goodwill has been extremely rewarding. The Youth Services Program impacts the lives of 30,000 disadvantaged youth throughout the Metro Denver school systems, and I have personally interacted with a number of them. They indicate that, without Goodwill, they wouldn't even be in school, let alone hoping to go to college and pursue a career. Goodwill is irreplaceable in their lives.
Goodwill provides outstanding programs that help teenagers and young adults to consider and prepare for careers outside the norms of their surroundings. So often teenagers get engulfed in their environments that they limit their thinking on what they can become.
My experience is that Goodwill provides much needed community services based on a sustainable model. I enjoy donating to Goodwill because I know my goods will not just end up in a landfill. I enjoy shopping at Goodwill because I am supporting a community-minded business and reducing my own consumption impact.
I volunteer with the Goodwill Industries Energy Workforce Program. This program works with Denver Public Schools high school students to prepare them for careers in the energy field with an emphasis on alternative energy. I have had the chance to give presentations and demonstrations about solar PV to their students. We have also done a solar car project. I have also helped with mock interviews to prepare the students to interview for internships and employment opportunities. It has been a terrific experience. One of my favorite days was the day we constructed the miniature solar cars. At first the students were skeptical, but soon their ingenuity really shined. They began experimenting with multiple solar panels on each car mounted in various directions to see what would make it go the fastest. It was a perfect example of how energized these young people can get about renewable energy. The Goodwill Energy Workforce Program is providing unique hands on educational and career preparation opportunities for these DPS students. I am proud to be a part of it and look forward to seeing some of these students working in the field in the coming years.
The volunteer programs that Goodwill offers give community members a chance to help youth stay in school and form lasting mentoring relationships. The Urban Connections program provides young men and women a way to connect with services they need when they experience unstable living conditions, as well as matching them with a mentor who can help advocate for them in their time of need. The staff are very professional, are connected to community resources, and obviously care very much for the students they help. I would highly recommend volunteering through one of Goodwill's programs.
I've been involved with mentoring students at North High School for the past year. This has probably been as educational and beneficial for me as it is for the students I work with. It's been great to see how they're maturing over time.
I started as a mentor for the GoodWill Mentor program 3 years ago. It was the most challenging and rewarding experience of my life. My particular match was ended 2 years in for a variety of reason. And although it was a difficult ending it was for the best. I was consistantly supported through in my issues with my match. This agancy is amazing!
I do volunteering for Goodwill for Mock Interviews, Career Panels, Scholarship Mock Interviews and every time I walk away feeling like I have contributed to a young person life. The other rewarding part is getting the thank cards from the students, that is very rewarding. But the most part is having the kids look up to and take your advise and go forward
My experience with Goodwill is helping with Goodwill Youth Services. Goodwill Youth Services has programs set up that encourage youth to think about their future, including doing resumes, mock interviews and talking with professionals at career panel interviews. The kids are excited about their future and after I come home from volunteering in the classroom I know that my time has been well spent. The kids know the value of follow up and saying thank you. It is nice to get the hand written cards in the mail. In addition I enjoy shopping at the Goodwill stores knowing that my money is going to help those that the organization supports as well as being a believer in recycling of goods.