Turn Earth Day Into Earth Year: The Power of Donating

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Apr 22, 2014, 08:30 ET

ROCKVILLE, Md., April 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Spring weather is coming to much of the nation after a long and snowy winter, which makes Goodwill® particularly grateful for Earth Day. Goodwill encourages people to take a few minutes this Earth Day to collect items they no longer need and donate them to Goodwill. Small actions, such as cleaning out closets or kitchen cupboards, can make a big difference when it comes to the environment.

Goodwill partners with schools, colleges and community partners to host donation drives for kids and adults who want to give their clothing a second life. Last year, Goodwill Industries International and Keep America Beautiful launched the Give and Go! pilot program, a campaign to encourage college students who are moving out of their dorm rooms to donate responsibly. While college students are among the most environmentally conscious demographic group as a whole, like everyone else, they are no strangers to waste. Every spring as the school year comes to an end, the estimated 3 million students who live in university housing move out of their dorm rooms and leave behind perfectly good clothing, electronics, books and furniture. The Give and Go! initiative encourages college students to take positive action by donating their items. Just five university campuses participated last year, and Goodwill saw a dramatic impact last spring, with collections totaling 60,185 pounds that were diverted from landfills.

"The items that students and millions of other people donate are sold at Goodwill stores and the revenue funds job training and community-based services for people who face challenges to finding employment," said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "Turn Earth Day into Earth Year. Donate to Goodwill and help divert items from landfills so more people can reuse and repurpose usable items."

Another area in which nearly everyone — from high school students to senior citizens — is accumulating more than ever before is electronics. Working electronic items can be donated too, but broken ones should be recycled responsibly in order to protect the environment. Dell Reconnect, a partnership between Goodwill and Dell, has helped consumers responsibly recycle more than 324 million pounds of computer electronics over the past decade — that is the equivalent of more than 45 million laptops. (Check out the Reconnect website for locations.)

To find your nearest Goodwill donation center, visit www.goodwill.org.

About Goodwill Industries International
Goodwill Industries International is a network of 165 community-based agencies in the United States and Canada, with a presence in 14 other countries. Goodwill is one of America's top 25 most inspiring companies (Forbes 2013). Goodwill agencies are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that fund job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 2,700 stores and online at shopgoodwill.com®. Local Goodwill agencies also build revenue and create jobs by contracting with businesses and government to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packaging and assembly, food service preparation, and document imaging and shredding. Last year, more than 6.7 million people in the United States and Canada benefited from Goodwill's career services. Goodwill channels 82 percent of its revenue directly into its programs and services. Visit Goodwill online at www.goodwill.org, Facebook.com/goodwillintl and Twitter.com/goodwillintl.

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SOURCE Goodwill Industries International