A surge in donations when people stayed home and cleared out their closets during the Covid-19 pandemic prompted Goodwill Southwestern Pennsylvania to provide $25 gift vouchers for those in need to obtain clothing, furniture and other essential items.
Donations to Goodwill have tapered off to a steady flow, but its Give Back Program was so successful that the nonprofit continued the initiative.
Since its launch in 2021, the program has allocated $785,000 worth of vouchers to other social services agencies that in turn distributed them to more than 26,000 disadvantaged individuals, says Jen Belden-England, director of client services at Goodwill’s regional base in Lawrenceville.
As it rolls out Give Back for 2024, Goodwill expects to provide vouchers to over 100 organizations, says Belden-England.
The vouchers can be used to shop at 34 Goodwill stores in the Pittsburgh region and northern West Virginia.
Goodwill uses revenues from its stores to fund job training and education for people with barriers to employment, including disabilities.
As a large nonprofit with a significant geographic footprint, Goodwill aims to work with partners whose clients include families displaced by house fires, survivors of domestic abuse, job seekers and people in recovery from substance abuse, Belden-England says.
By channeling the vouchers through its partner organizations, “We’re supporting the work already happening in our communities,” says Belden-England. “Our partners know their communities and the people living there.”
The Center for Employment Opportunities, a national nonprofit that provides workforce connections and support to adults with criminal records, distributed approximately 100 vouchers worth a total of $2,500 to its clients last year, says Josh Will, site director for the organization’s Pittsburgh office, Downtown.
Will requested more vouchers this year.
An organization can distribute single $25 vouchers to individuals; a household can receive vouchers totaling up to $100.
The vouchers are “an extremely valuable asset” for Center for Employment Opportunities clients who are being coached in resume preparation, interview techniques or starting new jobs after being incarcerated, says Will.
“They can use them at Goodwill stores for appropriate attire, household supplies or for children’s clothing,” he says. “That’s money that’s freed up for their own transportation to and from work.”
The deadline for nonprofits to apply for vouchers is 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 15.
Applications and information are available online.
About 80 nonprofits have already applied, says Belden-England.
Organizations are required to participate in training before distributing the vouchers and are required to submit monthly reports to Goodwill that detail how many vouchers were distributed and the number of people served, she says.
Participants at the Center for Employment Opportunities who request vouchers must state how they plan to use them, says Will.
“We want to make sure the people who need them most get the most value of them,” he says.
Organizations that participate in the program this year will receive a first round of vouchers to distribute in late June and a second installment in December.
“I really think this is a win-win-win for all involved,” says Belden-England.
“The Give Back Program fosters community support through Goodwill vouchers, enabling recipients to embrace new beginnings,” Monique McIntosh, Goodwill’s president and chief executive, said in a statement.
“By offering these vouchers, we bolster our nonprofit partners, enabling them to address the urgent needs of the people they serve. Together, we’re dismantling barriers and fostering a more resilient, interconnected community.”
