Goodwill Launches Fresh New Look and Feel on Bloor

Goodwill Toronto celebrating 70 years of service in Ontario, opening of New Community Store

(Toronto, June 9, 2005) – Today, in celebration of its 70th year of service in Ontario, Goodwill Toronto officially opened its newest Community Store and launched a new era for the non-profit agency dedicated to creating jobs and opportunity for people facing the biggest barriers to employment in our community.

“The new store at 345 Bloor Street East offers a fresh new look and feel in Goodwill retailing: It’s brighter, cleaner, better organized and branded for a more professional, more customer-friendly look and an improved shopping experience,” said Dr. Ken Connelly, President and CEO of Goodwill. “We think this new approach will attract more donations and more customers, and keep them coming back for great bargains and great finds.”

The new store offers a full range of both new and gently used products, from clothing for men, women and kids, to books, glassware and other vintage and household goods – all bargain-priced to sell.

Dr. Connelly, who was joined by Ms. Deb Matthews, Parliamentary Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Community and Social Services and Councillor Olivia Chow from the city for the birthday and store opening celebration, noted that the new approach to retailing is a key part of how Goodwill is changing to ensure it can do a better job of fulfilling its core mission to give jobs and opportunity to people who face the biggest barriers to employment, among them the young, the old, the disabled and new Canadians.

“By doing a better, more professional job of collecting and retailing gently used clothing, furniture and household goods, we’ll be able to compete more effectively in a highly competitive marketplace. More revenue from our retail operation will allow us to create more paid jobs and opportunity for people facing the biggest barriers to employment and so deliver more benefit to the communities we serve,” said Dr. Connelly, adding that the new approach and look will be rolled out to all of Goodwill’s 42 locations over time.

Goodwill’s plan is to dedicate increased retail revenues to establishing a new transitional employment initiative. Transitional employment is paid, part-time work, where participants receive a pay cheque over a twelve-month period, for the work they do at Goodwill. In addition to the on-the-job skills training, participants learn the additional life skills necessary to find and keep permanent full-time employment. Goodwill is committed to creating 1,000 paid transitional jobs in Ontario by 2010.

“Our new approach to retailing – the clean, safe, bright workplaces we’re creating – will help our transitional employees feel safe, operate to a high standard and get the job and life skills necessary to help them find permanent employment,” he said.

As well as making the stores more customer and employee friendly, Goodwill is intent on creating more community-friendly stores. At the new Bloor location, for instance, Goodwill is creating a community reading room and plans to stage special auction events and regular weekend seminars and workshops.

“We want to reach out and engage the community in our mission and remind them, again and again, that only Goodwill uses public and corporate donations of gently used clothing, furniture and household goods to create jobs and put people to work in our communities,” said Dr. Connelly. “Donations are critical to our mission: the more donations we get, the more transitional jobs we can create. And, remember, only Goodwill uses your donations of new and gently used goods and the revenues we raise at our retail stores to create jobs and put people to work in our communities.”

Goodwill is a registered charity whose mission is to provide work opportunities and skills development to people facing barriers to employment. Its operation of 42 retail outlets and donations centres and other lines of business is its means to deliver its mission throughout Greater Toronto, Central and Eastern Ontario.
For more information on Goodwill, please visit our website at www.goodwill.on.ca.

Click here to view pictures of Goodwill Community Store 345 Bloor Street East Grand Opening, June 9th, 2005

Media Contact:
Mitzie Hunter, Goodwill Toronto, (416) 362-4711