Statements
Mission
Changing lives through education, training and employment.
Background
Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc. is a Nashville-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving 48 counties of Middle and West Tennessee. Our mission is to change lives through education, training, and employment. Since 1957, we have provided job training and job placement free of charge to people with disabilities and other barriers to employment through the sale of donated items.
We operate 29 retail stores, two Outlets, about 45 donation sites, 12 Career Solutions Centers and one Mobile Career Center. We accept gently-used items that donors no longer want, need or use, which are sold either in our stores or online at onlinegoodwill.com. Revenue from the sale of donated goods -- in addition to monetary donations and grants -- helps to fund job training services and programs provided by Goodwill Career Solutions. Our Career Solutions clients are often unemployed, underemployed or face various barriers to employment, such as a disability, lack of a diploma or a history of incarceration.
Although we are affiliated with Goodwill Industries International in Bethesda, Md., Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee operates independently through its own CEO and governing board of directors. We believe in giving "a hand up, not a handout" -- a saying coined by Goodwill's founder, the Rev. Edgar J. Helms. In the early 1900s, Helms performed missionary work in the slums of Boston. He hired people in need -- many of whom were considered unemployable -- to mend and repair used goods he collected from wealthy Bostonians. The refurbished items were then sold to provide his employees with a livelihood. His model became the basis for the mission of Goodwills throughout the U.S. and abroad. We are grateful to our generous shoppers and donors who make our work possible.
Impact
Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc. has a 10-year goal to work with at least 100,000 members of the community to guide them into career paths leading out of poverty and into middle-skill occupations that pay a living wage. Goodwill has Career Solutions Centers in Brentwood, Clarksville, Cookeville, Crossville, Dickson, Hendersonville, Jackson, Mt. Juliet, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Springfield and Spring Hill. We also deploy a Mobile Career Center to underserved areas.
In 2022, Goodwill served 11,015 people, providing more than 1,900 free training activities. These range from one-on-one career coaching and job fairs to referrals with nearly 500 employer partners. They also include job readiness training, such as classes in Resume Writing, Applying for Work and Interviewing for Work. And they include vocational skills training, such as Call Center, Construction and Google IT Support Professional programs.
Goodwill also offers career support for its more than 1,200 employees -- six out of 10 of whom first came to Goodwill for mission services. GoodPaths, a 12-week leadership development program, prepares employees for upward mobility within or outside of Goodwill. Ninety people have graduated from GoodPaths since its beginning in 2019.
Needs
Goodwill has an ongoing need for gently used clothing and household items and to shop in our Goodwill retail stores to support our retail sales and mission-related services. We also need:
• Corporate financial support through the form of grants or corporate sponsorship for special programs and/or events.
• Monetary gifts from individuals to support our many free mission programs helping to change lives in the community.
• Employer partnerships to aid our clients in learning job skills required for middle skills occupations, enabling them to move out of poverty and into higher-wage jobs. This includes opportunities for internships and apprenticeships.
• Financial contributions to help individuals in need of housing, food, child care, or other emergency needs, etc. to enter training or to have resources to begin permanent employment.
• Volunteers with computer skills in our Career Centers to assist incoming job-seekers in registering for Goodwill services, job applications and other clerical operations.
CEO Statement
Each year, thousands of Tennesseans come to Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee for help overcoming barriers to employment.
These include people such as Shaheera Alnatshia, a Murfreesboro mother of four who experienced domestic violence, homelessness and joblessness after emigrating to Nashville from her native Jordan. With Goodwill's help, she earned a Google IT Support Professional Certificate, which led to an apprenticeship at Accenture, a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Shaheera is now an Application Development Analyst, a position that provides her with a promising career outlook and her family with financial stability.
Last year, Goodwill's 12 regional Career Solutions Centers provided employment and training opportunities to 11,015 people, including many with developmental or physical disabilities, veterans, seniors, ex-offenders and young adults not engaged in education or employment. With Goodwill's assistance, these people completed occupational training programs, earned industry-recognized certifications, achieved secondary education credentials, and gained digital literacy skills.
Goodwill's focus is on helping clients achieve the ABCs of employment: finding A job and upskilling for a Better job, which will lead to a Career. Through its many free training programs, Goodwill guides job-seekers to employment in high-growth industries that offer a pathway out of poverty, away from government benefits and toward financial independence.
Over the past decade, our nonprofit organization has helped people find more than 58,000 jobs, creating a tremendous ripple effect on the regional economy. And Goodwill's operations have made the state greener, renewing the life cycle of hundreds of millions of useful items, diverting them from landfills.
Most of this is made possible through the sale of donated goods in our retail stores, Outlets and at OnlineGoodwill.com Whenever you donate clothing, home goods, or money; shop with us; hire our clients; partner or volunteer with our organization; or share the word about our bargains or our mission, you really do change lives.
I am grateful to work with a talented and passionate Board of Directors, complemented by a talented and equally impassioned staff, who are helping us achieve our goals in these times of tremendous change, challenge and opportunity.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Employment - Employment Preparation & Procurement |
| Secondary Category: | Employment - Job Training |
| Tertiary Category: | - |
Areas Served
Also serves Benton, Carroll, Crockett, Decatur,Dyer, Gibson, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, Obion, and Weakley Counties in Tennessee.
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Clay |
| TN - Cumberland |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - DeKalb |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Fentress |
| TN - Giles |
| TN - Hickman |
| TN - Houston |
| TN - Humphreys |
| TN - Jackson |
| TN - Lawrence |
| TN - Lewis |
| TN - Lincoln |
| TN - Macon |
| TN - Marshall |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Montgomery |
| TN - Overton |
| TN - Perry |
| TN - Pickett |
| TN - Putnam |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Smith |
| TN - Stewart |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Trousdale |
| TN - Wayne |
| TN - White |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
| TN - Bedford |
