Story Ideas

Looking for a Good News Story or a way for your audience to get involved in the community? Some happenings at Goodwill® that might interest you: 

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Earth Month Celebrations at Goodwill – All Areas

To celebrate Earth Month, Goodwill has several activities planned throughout April:

  • Each Monday in April, Goodwill posts a “green tip” on its Facebook page.
  • On Saturday, April 20th Goodwill, in partnership with Franklin County, Prudential Waterfront Properties, Earth Environmental, and Franklin Community Bank, is hosting the 5th Annual E-Cycling Day (see more information below)
  • Several schools and colleges in Goodwill’s service area are hosting Donation Drive to keep items that staff and students no longer need out of local landfills (see more information below)

For more information on Earth Month at Goodwill, please contact:
Lucie Touchton, Marketing Manager
Email: ltouchton@goodwillvalleys.com
Office: (540) 581.0620 ext. 174
Cell phone: (540) 529.9290

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5th Annual Franklin County E-Cycling Day – Rocky Mount and Smith Mountain Lake

 

Saturday, April 20th from 8:30am to Noon

Goodwill, Prudential Waterfront Properties, Earth Environmental and Civil, and Franklin Community Bank, in cooperation with Franklin County, are excited to host the 5th Annual Franklin County E-Cycling Day on Saturday, April 20th from 8:30 am – Noon.

Once again the E-Cycling Day will focus on the recycling of computers, computer equipment, small appliances, and electronics.  In addition, confidential on-site document destruction will be offered at the Franklin Community Bank in Rocky Mount.

In the last four years of the event over 20 tons of materials have been diverted from Franklin County landfills.

Click here to view the press release.

E-CYCLING AT 2 LOCATIONS

  • Prudential Waterfront Properties – intersection of Rt. 122 & 616, Westlake
  • Rocky Mount Goodwill Store – 1045 North Main Street
  • The first 20 donors at each e-cycling location will receive a free reusable shopping tote.
  • Items accepted: Computers, computer equipment, printers, scanners, faxes, small appliances, and electronics

SHREDDING AT 1 LOCATION

  • Franklin Community Bank – 400 Old Franklin Turnpike, Rocky Mount
  • Confidential on-site document destruction

For more information on the E-Cycling Day, please contact:
Lucie Touchton, Marketing Manager
Email: ltouchton@goodwillvalleys.com
Office: (540) 581.0620 ext. 174
Cell phone: (540) 529.9290

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Goodwill Awards Ceremony Highlights Success and Support – Roanoke Valley

Lorie Marrero, author of the Clutter Diet® and Goodwill Industries International spokesperson, will be the Keynote Speaker at the Awards Ceremony.

Goodwill Industries of the Valleys will host its Annual Awards Ceremony on

Thursday, May 9th
Vinton War Memorial
5:30 Social, 6:30 Program

The program, which will take place during Goodwill Industries Week, is the opportunity to honor program participants, as well as those that have made Goodwill’s success over the past year possible.  Awards that will be presented include Graduate and Achiever of the Year, Business Partner and Volunteer of the Year, as well as the Roger Matthews Lifetime Achievement Award and many others.

The evening’s keynote speaker will be Lorie Marerro, author of the Clutter Diet® and Goodwill Industries International spokesperson.  In 2006 Lorie launched the Clutter Diet® at www.clutterdiet.com, an innovative online member community that helps people “put their homes on a diet.” The program has helped thousands of members in eighteen countries around the world, making organizing expertise affordable and accessible to anyone, anywhere.  Lori blogs weekly for Good Housekeeping magazine and has appeared on shows such as CNBC’s Big Idea with Donny Deutsch.  Her book “The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life” reached #8 on the Amazon Kindle nonfiction bestseller list in January 2009, and was released in paperback in major bookstores in March 2009.

The Awards Ceremony is sponsored by Triangle Realtors and OnHold Marketing.

Goodwill Industries week, May 6th – 10th, was first celebrated in May 1951 as a way to encourage local Goodwill agencies to educate their communities about their mission of “helping people with disabilities help themselves.”

For more information on the Awards Ceremony, please contact:
Kelly Sandridge Coleman, Director of Marketing & Community Relations
Email:  kcoleman@goodwillvalleys.com
Office:  (540) 581.0620 ext. 107
Cell:  (540) 525.5728

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Rounding Up Helps Fund Goodwill Job Training and Employment Programs – All Areas

When customers shop at Goodwill they will be asked if they would like to “Round Up” their purchase to the nearest dollar amount.  The money raised through this campaign helps fund Goodwill job training and employment programs for people in our community.

From April through June customer’s leftover change will support Goodwill programs for adults with disabilities, such as Organizational Employment (OE), Community Work Adjustment Training (CWAT), and Medicaid Waiver.

OE and CWAT programs help adults with disabilities find jobs and earn a paycheck. Donations will be used to purchase computers and smart boards for employment training.

Medicaid Waiver programs help individuals with the most severe disabilities gain greater independence. Funds generated through Round Up support music therapy for participants.

In January, February, and March, customers donated a total of $46,467 to fund Goodwill programs.

For more information on the Round Up campaign, please contact:
Lucie Touchton, Marketing Manager
Email: ltouchton@goodwillvalleys.com
Office: (540) 581.0620 ext. 174
Cell phone: (540) 529.9290

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Goodwill NOT Landfill: Donation Drives with Local Colleges – Salem, Radford, Lynchburg, and Harrisonburg

Goodwill is partnering with local colleges to collect items that students, who move out of their apartments and dorms, don’t need any more. These donation drives benefit the Goodwill mission and support job training and employment programs for people in our communities.

Participating colleges include:

James Madison University: Monday, April 22nd – Friday, May 3rd

  • Part of “Why Wait, Donate” program at JMU.
  • EDGAR donation boxes will be available on campus for 24hr donations.

Lynchburg College: Monday, May 6th – Sunday, May 19th

  • Goodwill donation boxes will be placed in student residence halls.
  • EDGAR donation boxes will be available on campus for 24hr donations.

Radford University: Tuesday, May 7th – Thursday, May 9th

  • Kickoff event May 1st from 10am – 2pm in front of the Bonnie Student Union building
  • Staffed donation collection sites will be open from 10am to 6pm.
  • EDGAR donation boxes will be available on campus for 24hr donations from Wednesday, May 1st through Thursday, May 9th.

Roanoke College: Thursday, April 25th – end of May

  • Goodwill donation boxes will be placed in student residence halls.
  • EDGAR donation boxes will be available on campus for 24hr donations.

For more information on Goodwill Not Landfill, contact:
Lucie Touchton, Marketing Manager
Email: ltouchton@goodwillvalleys.com
Office: (540) 581.0620 ext. 174
Cell phone: (540) 529.9290

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Goodwill Partners with Local Elementary Schools for Donation Drives – Lynchburg & Pulaski

Goodwill is excited to partner with local elementary schools that host donation drives to benefit Goodwill. The events give students the opportunity to learn about the importance of giving back and helping others in their community, while also helping the environment and utilizing Goodwill as an alternative for recycling, repurposing, and reusing materials. Goodwill’s mascot EDGAR® (Educating that Donations to Goodwill Are Recyclable) joins students at a pre-drive pep rally to explain why their donations make a difference in their community.

Students will collect donations using donation boxes placed in their class room. At certain days and times there will also be a Goodwill truck on campus.

Upcoming School Donation Drives:

  • April 15-19 at Hurt Park Elementary School (pep rally April 15th)
  •  April 15-22 at Christiansburg Elementary School (pep rally April 12th)
  • April 22-26 at Fishburn Park Elementary School (pep rally April 22nd)
  • April 22-26 at Lincoln Terrace Elementary School (pep rally April 19th)

For more information on Goodwill School Donation Drives, contact:
Lucie Touchton, Marketing Manager
Email: ltouchton@goodwillvalleys.com
Office: (540) 581.0620 ext. 174
Cell phone: (540) 529.9290

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General Goodwill Information

Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, a United Way partner organization headquartered in Roanoke, serves 31 counties and 14 cities in the New River, Roanoke, and Shenandoah Valleys. Its mission is to help people and families in our community achieve a better life through work and independence. In 2012 Goodwill assisted 73,952 individuals and in this difficult employment market placed 2,327 people into jobs in our community.