For all media inquiries, to schedule a tour of the facility or secure a Goodwill speaker for your next meeting or event, contact Beth Galambos, Marketing & Public Relations Manager, at

330-724-6995 x 250 or by email at bgalambos@goodwillakron.org.

Goodwill Fact Sheet

Download the

2007 Annual Report

NEWS CENTER:

"More than 6,000 Job Seekers Assisted by Goodwill Industries"

(Akron, Ohio) – Looking for work and facing adversity are difficult obstacles, and valuable resources like those provided though Goodwill Industries of Akron (GIA) helped to give 6,291 individuals a hand-up this past year. With the mission of helping individuals prepare for, find, and retain employment, the nonprofit agency provided a variety of services to individuals looking for a new or better job, or the opportunity to advance toward gainful employment.
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"Goodwill Announces New Board Directors and Officers"

(Akron, Ohio) – Goodwill Industries of Akron (GIA) announces its new board directors and 2008-09 board officers. New Board Directors The following individuals were elected to the GIA Board of Directors and began serving their first three-year term in March 2008.
Read More.

Exciting things are happening at Goodwill! Our mission is to help individuals prepare for, find, and retain employment, and we strive to drive the mission throughout all of our activities!

Earth Day 2008

On Tuesday, April 22, 2008, millions of people around the world celebrated Earth Day. Locally, public radio station 91.3 The Summit hosted some green festivities at an "Earth Day 2008 Celebration," a family-friendly environmental awareness expo that was free and open the public. Goodwill Industries of Akron was an exhibitor at the expo, demonstrating how our agency is the ultimate recycler - taking in tons (literally!) of clothing, housewares, and other donations each year and selling them in our Retail Stores to fund our mission of helping individuals prepare for, find, and retain employment.

Goodwill & Climate Change

Recycling is a fundamental part of operations at Goodwill Industries of Akron. Founded on the notion that usable clothing and goods could be resold at affordable prices and the proceeds used for employment services, Goodwill, being a community source for those who wish to reuse and recycle, has been minimizing climate change since its inception.

In 2007, Goodwill sold, reused, or recycled 2,500 tons of donations.
Unsold clothing is salvaged for the creation of rugs and other textiles.
Metal, books, phonebooks, cardboard and electronics are recycled as well.
Hazardous wastes (i.e. light bulbs, paint, batteries and oxygen tanks) are disposed of using organizations recommended by Summit Akron Sold Waste Management Authority.
Cardboard boxes for storage and deliveries are reused as often as possible, before the cardboard is recycled.
Goodwill also limits greenhouse gases by keeping donations local. With sixteen convenient donation locations in a five-county area, donors do not have to travel far to deliver their donations or shop for reused goods.
The majority of donations stay at the store they were donated to, limiting the use of delivery trucks and packaging materials.
Most stores are located to enable individuals using public transportation to access them.
Shopgoodwill.com, Goodwill’s auction resale website, reuses cardboard boxes and newspapers for packing from the Service Center in Akron.

Recent efforts have been made to fight climate change in regards to office operations, educational and operational tactics.

Mailing lists are updated to limit the printing of unused materials.
Marketing materials are being tracked and re-evaluated to limit excess printing.
Paper recycle bin are in each workspace, and each printer/copier location, and clearly marked.
Used printing and copying toner cartridges are returned to manufacturers for recycling. The turning off of lights in vacant offices is practiced as well as turning off lights in offices when workers leave for the day.
The installation of automatic, energy-efficient toilets and sinks to limit water usage.
In-house cleaning crew uses the latest energy-efficient equipment to cut down on water usage as well as maintain better air quality.
All office lighting in the Service Center is the smallest, most energy-efficient florescent bulbs.
Thanks to the Portage Trail Sierra Club and Jennings Heating and Cooling Co., Inc., the installation of a web-based HVAC management system that switches the system to minimal usage at night when offices are vacant.

Celebration of Champions May 6-8, 2008

Each year, Goodwill honors "champions in the community" who work to make our mission of helping individuals prepare for, find and retain employment a reality. Four "celebrations" will be held this year in Summit, Portage, and Medina Counties. To see the individuals and area businesses who are being honored click here.

Employee of Distinction Luncheons September 3-5, 2008

The Employee of Distinction Luncheons give local employers an opportunity to showcase their top-notch employees by nominating them for Employee of Distinction Awards. THE NOMINATION FORM IS AVAILABLE NOW! Goodwill hosts three luncheons - one in each county of Summit, Portage and Medina. To download the Nomination Form and learn more about this year's events, click here.