For almost a century, Goodwill has collected household goods and sold them in Goodwill stores to support extensive employment programs and related services. This program has benefited many millions of people with disabilities and others with unique barriers to employment.

Goodwill Industries has a proud history dating back to 1902. Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister working in Boston, wanted to help the destitute residents of the city’s South End. He conceived the idea of collecting unwanted household goods and employing people to repair and refurbish the items for resale. Income from the resold goods paid the workers’ wages. This "recycling" of donations through processing, resale and wages was the beginning of the Goodwill method of self-help.

In the following decades, the Goodwill idea spread across North America and overseas. While the basic goals and revenue-generating activities of Goodwill Industries have not changed greatly over the years, the types of people served have. Today, Goodwill Industries serves people who face a variety of barriers to employment, including physical or mental disabilities, illiteracy, homelessness, inadequate education and welfare dependency. The ultimate goal is to place individuals in productive employment in the community.

Goodwill Industries is one of the world's largest and most successful providers of employment and training services for people with disabilities and special needs. Services are provided directly by 206 autonomous community based member organizations worldwide.

Goodwill Industries of Western Connecticut

Celebrating over 50 Years of Service to the Local Community

In 1951, the Rev. Joseph Pouliot organized Goodwill Industries of Western Connecticut at the Christian Union on Main Street in Bridgeport. In 1969, Goodwill merged with the Sheltered Workshop and moved to its present barrier-free building on Ocean Terrace. A residential facility complete with kitchen, cafeteria, recreation room and community room was added in 1971. In the years that followed, Goodwill Industries of Western Connecticut expanded into a multifaceted agency serving hundreds of individuals each year.

Helms Housing, Inc., named after the founder of Goodwill Industries, was established in 1989 as a separate corporation to fulfill the mission of providing affordable housing and rental opportunities for people with disabilities and those who are economically disadvantaged. The State of Connecticut granted the corporation the funding to build 12 units of affordable housing on Goodwill’s existing property in Bridgeport. In October 1991, the first tenant moved in.

Today, in addition to the corporate office in Bridgeport, Goodwill Industries of Western Connecticut operates 14 stores and has offices in Stamford, Bethel, and Torrington. Existing employment and support programs are growing and new services are developing. All of these services help people with disabilities and those trapped in the cycles of welfare dependency experience the joy of earning a paycheck and achieving the dignity of independence and self-sufficiency.

The supported employment program is moving into the community with small groups of Goodwill workers who perform cleaning and landscaping services. The individuals participating gain valuable job skills and work experience that prepares them for competitive employment. Workforce Development programs offer training and job placement to those transitioning from welfare to work. Programs operate locally in Norwalk, Bridgeport and Stamford.

Goodwill Industries of Western Connecticut is a qualified provider of supported living services for individuals with mental retardation and in February of 2000, became a qualified provider for the ABI Medicaid Waiver Program. This highly respected and largest program of its kind within Connecticut provides non-medical services to people with an acquired brain injury, allowing them the choice of living outside of institutions and nursing facilities by providing services for them in their own community.

Goodwill Industries of Western Connecticut is committed to expanding programs and creating new services that will reach more people, meet more needs and touch more lives. In 2006, Goodwill provided over 812,300 hours of comprehensive employment and support services to 1245 individuals with disabilities, and other barriers to employment.