Goodwill of Colorado Celebrates Annual Goodwill Week

Goodwill® Helps People Advance Careers and Build Meaningful Lives

April 29, 2021- Denver, Colo.– Every year during the first full week of May, Goodwill organizations across the United States and Canada celebrate Goodwill Week to highlight the defining principle of our mission: Transforming lives through the power of work.

This year, Goodwill Week takes place from May 2-8. Throughout the week, Goodwill of Colorado will celebrate its team members, shoppers and donors and how their dedication creates possibility for those in need throughout the state. In fact, the City of Denver and the City of Colorado Springs have each issued a proclamation naming the first week of May “Goodwill Week.”

Goodwill Week has been observed by local Goodwill organizations for nearly 70 years. It was first celebrated in May 1951 to encourage local Goodwill organizations to educate their communities about their mission of “helping people with disabilities help themselves.”

“Goodwill Week is a time to highlight and celebrate the stories of people we have impacted in the community,” said Goodwill of Colorado CEO Karla Grazier. “In 2020, despite the pandemic, we were able to place 1,856 individuals into community jobs and give them the ability to transform their lives. It’s remarkable to see the changes that take place in people when they are given the opportunity to succeed.”

Goodwill is dedicated to providing individuals opportunities to learn new skills to help them secure meaningful employment, advance their careers, and care for themselves and their families. Job placement and training programs help people earn paychecks, build their careers and rebuild their lives.

Goodwill gave Anthony Martinez a second chance at a productive and rewarding life. After going down a dark path with series of destructive behaviors that included armed robbery and drugs, Anthony was faced with the possibility of spending his life in prison. During his incarceration, Anthony vowed to turn his life around and made good on that promise. After serving a portion of his sentence, he was paroled for good behavior and struggled to find meaningful employment, as many companies refuse to hire ex-offenders. Anthony was able to secure a position with Goodwill and moved up quickly from donation attendant to Store Manager, grateful for the opportunity to prove himself.

Goodwill’s long-established partnership with BankWork$ offers free eight-week training to adults seeking a career in the banking industry, providing mock interviews, job placement assistance and mentoring to foster job satisfaction and career advancement opportunities.

Skani is a BankWork$ graduate. Experiencing economic challenges and caring for a daughter who has a disability resulted in frequent moves and financial instability. The search for career opportunities brought Skani to Colorado where she enrolled in BankWork$ to provide a better life for her family. Her shy nature made the curriculum challenging, but she never gave in and completed assignments with excellence, polished her public speaking skills, took constructive criticism, and applied it. While attending the BankWork$ post-graduation job fair, Skani was offered a job on spot from Wells Fargo, allowing her to start a new chapter as a banking professional.

Goodwill stores are more than retail centers—they are opportunity centers that provide a way to change individuals’ lives for the better. Goodwill believes in the power of work and annually helps more than 105,000 individuals with disabilities, seniors, youth, veterans and military families, and persons with barriers to employment.

Please join us in celebrating Goodwill Week by visiting our stores, donating your gently used household items, and sharing Goodwill with those who might benefit from our programs and services.

Visit GoodwillColorado.org to find the nearest Goodwill location, job fair or event, and to learn how you can help create a better future for someone in our community. Together, we change lives for good!