Staff Login HISTORY “FRIENDS OF GOODWILL, BE DISSATISFIED WITH YOUR WORK UNTIL EVERY HANDICAPPED [SIC] AND UNFORTUNATE PERSON IN YOUR COMMUNITY HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP TO HIS FULLEST USEFULNESS AND ENJOY A MAXIMUM OF ABUNDANT LIVING.” — DR. EDGAR J. HELMS—1941 Goodwill was founded in 1902 in Boston by Rev. Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister and early social innovator. Helms started Goodwill with the idea that people could earn a living collecting donated goods, repairing and selling them – that a job was better than a handout. “Not charity, but a chance,” he always said. Helms began his mission going door to door with burlap bags asking wealthy Boston residents to donate clothing. He then hired and trained people in need – many of whom were considered unemployable because they had disabilities – to repair, mend and clean the donated items so that they could be sold in thrift stores. Helms opened Goodwill’s doors to anyone with a “willingness to work” and became the pioneer of an organization that gave people hope, dignity and independence by providing them with the means to earn a paycheck and support their families. His social innovation set in motion a worldwide movement – Goodwill Industries – that has touched more than 5 million lives over the course of the past century. Goodwill of Southeast Georgia was incorporated on April 25, 1965. With a modest beginning, operating on $60,000 a year, in a borrowed building, with eight employees, Goodwill has grown in to a multi-million dollar operation with over 850+ employees in locations throughout Southeast Georgia. GOODWILL OF SOUTHEAST GEORGIA 7220 Sallie Mood Drive Savannah, GA 31406 912.354.6611 HOW TO HELP DONATE VOLUNTEER STAY UP TO DATE! Sign up for our newsletter! Copyright 2020 Goodwill Southeast Georgia. Site developed by My Agency Savannah.