Ninety years of Goodwill

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/04/2021 (1653 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An organization that sells gently used items at affordable prices and provides meaningful employment for people with disabilities reached a milestone this month.

Canadian Goodwill Industries marked its 90th anniversary on April 4. The charity has five retail stores in Winnipeg and one in Ashern.

According to general manager Charlotte McTavish, the anniversary is especially meaningful because of the challenges the non-profit has faced over the last few years.

“If it wasn’t for the customers, the donors and the staff, Goodwill wouldn’t be here,” McTavish says. “It’s their constant support that keeps us going.”

Rev. J. Richmond Craig, a United Church minister, started Canadian Goodwill Industries in 1931.

Craig held a rummage sale at his church, and as it was winding down, a man who was down on his luck approached Craig looking to buy some clothes. Craig told the man that if he helped clean up after the sale, he could take the items for free.

“He liked to call it a hand up, not a handout,” McTavish says.

From there, Canadian Goodwill Industries was born. Craig’s goals were to offer employment to those who could not find work due to the Great Depression, and to offer Manitobans items they needed at a low price.

Nine decades later, the non-profit’s objectives are almost exactly the same.

Canadian Goodwill Industries provides employment for persons with physical, developmental and emotional disabilities — persons whose disabilities are obstacles to their employment in the open market.

By collecting, refurbishing and selling used items, Canadian Goodwill Industries helps provide its employees with an income, independence and self esteem.

That’s been the case for David Marks, who started working at the non-profit in October 2001.

The 50-year-old lives with short-term memory issues stemming from a brain injury he sustained as a teenager, as well as depression and anxiety. Prior to arriving at Canadian Goodwill Industries, Marks worked at a number of different places.

“They didn’t work out because people didn’t know how to handle my memory problems,” he says.

At Canadian Goodwill Industries, Marks has found acceptance and an employer that is willing to accommodate his various needs. He has held a number of roles at the company, and currently does pick-ups, makes deliveries and helps at the non-profit’s warehouse on Princess Street.

“I love it here,” Marks says. “The people are just fantastic to me.”

The job keeps Marks physically fit and it’s helped with his anxiety.

“When society puts limits on people without seeing what they can do in the first place, those people become stigmatized,” he says. “Goodwill didn’t do that to me. They gave me the chance to try everything.”

Along with Canadian Goodwill Industries’ successes have come challenges.

In March 2019, the non-profit’s Pembina Highway location caught on fire after an SUV crashed through the front of the building. The store was closed for 10 months as a result. Last June, another car smashed into the same building.

In between the crashes, Canadian Goodwill had to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was honestly so stressful,” McTavish says.

One upside to the two accidents at the Pembina store was the outpouring of concern from the community that supports Canadian Goodwill Industries.

“We had so many customers sending us emails, saying how much they love the store and asking how staff were doing,” McTavish says. “They were genuinely concerned. In order for customers to show that compassion and care about the staff, I think it says a lot about the staff and the work they do.”

Canadian Goodwill Industries employs 66 people and is overseen by a board of directors. One board member who is especially excited about the non-profit’s 90th anniversary is Tom Craig, the grandson of founder J. Richmond Craig.

Tom Craig, whose father Alan managed Canadian Goodwill from 1956 until 1995, has served on the board since the 1980s.

“To me the anniversary is very exciting,” Tom Craig says. “It’s an organization that started right from the bottom, has built itself up with no help from any government agency and has survived for 90 years. It’s been through the wars, it’s been through financial downturns and it’s been able to help people all the way through it.”

Canadian Goodwill would usually celebrate its anniversary with a large gathering, including cake, balloons and sales at all six locations.

Those things aren’t possible as a result of the pandemic, but McTavish is happy the non-profit can nonetheless mark the occasion.

“We’re still standing after 90 years,” she says. “The last few years have been really hard, but we survived it.”

“Honestly and truly,” she adds, “I have to say we have the best customers and staff.”

Anyone interested in making a donation to Canadian Goodwill Industries can visit canadiangoodwill.ca.

aaron.epp@gmail.com