thrift-stores
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At this Goodwill, the first thing worth keeping is a job
In South Central California, donated goods pay for paid work. Behind the thrift-store racks is a hiring model whose most revealing measure is what happens after someone gets the job.
The Salvation Army Built a 400-Community Safety Net. Grande Prairie Shows Where It Is Straining
A 143-year-old church now runs an unusually broad social-service machine. In Grande Prairie, Captain Peter Kim's food bank reveals the clever choices, uncomfortable math and local partnerships that keep it moving.
The Thrift Store Is the Front Door. The Real Product Is Work.
Goodwill Southern California runs a circular machine with two outputs: second chances for donated goods and practical routes into employment. The familiar blue bins and thrift racks are only the public-facing half of the system.
America's Thrift Stores
America's Thrift Stores built a regional retail machine out of the things people no longer want. Its real product is not merely secondhand goods - it is a fast, organized loop connecting closets, store floors, bargain hunters, charities and the waste stream.
Goodwill Industries of South Florida
Goodwill Industries of South Florida is a Miami-based nonprofit social enterprise that funds training, employment and job placement for people with disabilities and other barriers to work. Founded in 1959, it runs a self-sustaining business model spanning donated-goods retail and thrift stores, technically complex apparel and flag manufacturing for the U.S. military, commercial laundry, janitorial services and third-party logistics. With roughly 3,600 employees and about $196M in annual revenue, it is one of the largest Goodwills in North America and the largest employer of people with disabilities in Florida.