Keith Parker, President and chief executive officer of Goodwill of North Georgia

Keith spoke to our club this past Monday, February 17 about the focus of this very successful nonprofit organization. When we think of Goodwill we think about the place where we donate old clothing that we do not wear anymore. Well what they do with the money collected from selling our old clothes is quite remarkable.

Goodwill helps people find jobs.They also have programs for children and work with high schools to help them improve their graduation rate. About creating jobs, they call it their ABC program, Get A job, get a Better job and find a Career. In Georgia last year 52,000 people contacted Goodwill for help with employment and 26,000 found employment. Goodwill is also very active in helping people with disabilities find employment.

Who shops at Goodwill stores? Not who you might think. The average Goodwill shopper is a 48-year-old female who is employed, college educated and lives in a household with 2 or more people and a cat!

"Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?" -Keith's favorite part of the four way test.

Goodwill currently has over 1000 retail locations in north Georgia and is still looking to grow. They will soon open new locations in Sandy Springs and Dunwoody. They employ over 3400 people which makes them the largest nonprofit employer in Georgia and their overhead is only 8%. So, Goodwill is larger than Target in the state of Georgia.

Goodwill has 13 career centers across the state where people can learn skills to help them find a better job and offers its service at no cost to the individuals. They also use these centers for training for youth. Goodwill helps people get off of Federal Assistance such as Welfare and food stamps.

The Rotary Club of Sandy Springs would like to thank Keith for being such vital part of our community through his work with Goodwill.

Keith Parker, President and chief executive officer of Goodwill of North Georgia, and Nancy Schroeder, 2019-2020 President of the Sandy Springs Rotary Club

These photos and more are available free of charge at: https://rotaryclubofsandysprings.zenfolio.com/p460...