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Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska, Inc.
Our Impact

Goodwill Facts

Learn about our Goodwill.

Learn the Facts

We live in an age of misinformation, where people can go online and literally say anything on social media  — whether it’s true or not and it can potentially be viewed by hundreds or thousands of people.

We believe in transparency and that’s why it’s more important than ever to get the real facts about Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska, our Mission, and the ways that we make real improvements in people’s lives in individuals living in our 55 county territory in central and western Nebraska.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska is happy to share The Facts – a quick, easy breakdown of all the information you need to know about us, what we do, and why donating either money or gently used goods is always a solid option if your goal is to improve the lives of the people living in your community.

 

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Why are Goodwill’s different?  Goodwill Industries International is an association of more than 165 autonomous member organizations.  Each Goodwill is governed by a local, volunteer board of directors and strives to identify the needs of the community.

Based on the needs of the community, each Goodwill designs programs and services that give Goodwill participants the skills they need to find work and live independently.

Services are available to citizens across our greater Nebraska territory who are meet eligibility requirements.

Programs and services and funded through agreements and contracts with state agencies and federal programs, as well as, generous donors and retail operations.

Services funded in whole or in part from Region II Human Services, Region 3 Behavioral Health Services (CFDA 93.958 Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services), Region 4 Behavioral Health System (CFDA 93.959 Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant), Region 5 Behavioral Health Systems, Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration-Center for Mental Health Services, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Nebraska VR, Social Security Administration and Probation Administration.

When people donate gently used items at any of our retail stores and donation drives, they can do so with the knowledge that we will honor their generosity by using the sales of their donated goods to improve people’s lives.

While we appreciate that shoppers enjoy discovering great finds at amazingly low deals in our brick and mortar stores, we feel a responsibility to honor the generosity of our donors by ensuring that some specialty items generate as much revenue as possible to help fund our mission. We currently sell items on online at Shop Goodwill which is a fun, convenient way to shop 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With our ability to sell things locally and nationally on our online ecommerce platform, we can ensure we earn as much as possible to put back into funding our mission, thus enabling us to help more people than we could if these items were just sold at our stores.

2022 Statistics & Summary of Our Services

Most people know us for our donation centers & thrift stores, but we are so much more.

 

In 2022, Goodwill Industries of Greater Nebraska provided services and support to over 2,000 people living with disabilities and barriers across greater Nebraska. Our services promote independence and access to the community, help people become successfully employed,  support goals of wellness and recovery, teach responsible behavior and provide safe and affordable housing. Many people benefit from multiple programs and services.

 

142
People Served in 2022

Developmental Disability Services

Grand Island, Hastings, & Kearney

Goodwill employees work with individuals to help them acquire, improve and retain the skills needed to be as independent as possible. Services provided help people living with an intellectual or developmental disability use their strengths and talents to accomplish their goals, achieve greater independence, learn to make choices and participate in and contribute to their community. Services are provided Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., in the evenings and on the weekends.

890
People Served in 2022

Employment & Career Services

Columbus, Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings, Lexington, North Platte, McCook, & York

Goodwill employees work with job seekers to help them become competitively employed in the community. Services provided help job seekers living with an intellectual or developmental disability, acquired brain injury, behavioral health diagnosis and/or substance use disorder or barriers such as poverty become employed in their community. Goodwill matches qualified candidates to job openings in the community and maintains a strong, responsive working relationship with employers to address needs.

582
People Served in 2022

Behavioral Health Services

Columbus, Grand Island, & Broken Bow

Goodwill offers a variety of programs to meet recovery needs of individuals diagnosed with a substance use disorder and/or a serious and persistent mental illness such as schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression. Services provided help individuals live successfully in their community.

603
People Served in 2022

Court Ordered Services

Columbus, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, Lexington, & North Platte

People receiving court-ordered services participate in classes facilitated by Goodwill’s training specialists at local state probation reporting centers. Goodwill-facilitated class topics include employment, money management, parenting, and behavior change with the goal to build skills promoting responsibility and healthy and positive decision-making.

45
People Lived in Housing in 2021

Housing

Columbus, Grand Island, Hastings, & Kearney

Three HUD financed housing projects consisting of 45 units provide safe and affordable housing to individuals living with a mental illness.

562
Store Vouchers Issued in 2022

Supporting People in Need

Goodwill issues store vouchers to support people in need across Greater Nebraska.

7,618,585
Pounds of Donations Collected in 2022

Donations Collected

At Our Stores & Through Donation Drives

Donations collected through community drives are sorted at the Grand Island warehouse facility for eventual distribution to retail stores. In 2022, 7,618,585 pounds of donations were collected at through our retail store/donation centers and donation drives in 80 communities.

83,234
Pounds of E-Waste Diverted in 2022

Technology Recycling

Computers and computer related equipment in any condition (working or nonworking) can be donated at any of our retail store/donation centers year round.

Retail

Columbus, Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney, Lexington, North Platte, Scottsbluff, McCook, & Alliance

Goodwill collects donations from the community for resale in our ten retail stores. Revenue generated from the sale of donated goods supports Goodwill services.

Outlet

Grand Island

Shoppers find bulk bargains to buy by the pound and unique finds with low prices. Open Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and located at 1729 S. Lincoln Avenue.

Donate Movement

Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle

Goodwill’s recycling program makes a difference in people’s lives, strengthens communities, and contributes to a healthier planet. In the event there is an item that cannot be sold in our stores, it is recycled. Recycling markets include textiles, shoes, stuffed toys, purses/belts/hats, hard toys, glassware, housewares, sporting equipment and books. The majority of items are used as they were originally intended, for example, a shirt is used as a shirt, a plate as a plate, etc. Other items are recycled and sold to salvage brokers.

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