Goodwill Community Information Night
Wednesday, February 16, 2005 7:30 p.m.

Remarks by
Dr. Ken Connelly, President & CEO, Goodwill

Check against delivery.

Good evening and thank you for showing such a keen interest in the future of Goodwill and your relationship to it, by being here this evening.

We are here tonight for two reasons. One, to take you through the changes that are happening at Goodwill, both with the move from the Jarvis street location and the changes we are undertaking to transform and strengthen our operations to better meet our core mission of workforce development.

The second reason we are here is to listen to you, our supporters, customers, employees, community leaders, and our neighbours. As Mitzie explained, in a few moments we will open the floor to you, to hear your questions and comments. I hope that when we leave here tonight, that all your questions and concerns have been addressed.

While the outward appearance of Goodwill is changing, we remain strongly committed to the heart and the mission of the Goodwill organization: “to provide work opportunities and skills development to people facing barriers to employment.”

Having said that, I would like to use my remarks to take you on a Goodwill tour, to describe how Goodwill is changing to better meet the needs of all the communities it serves.

Just as Goodwill is more than a store, how we are changing is much more than the Jarvis store relocation. Today, we are in the midst of completely transforming our operations, and together these changes will put Goodwill in a better position to meet its core mission of workforce development.

To meet our objectives of building a better and more efficient Goodwill, the Board of Directors decided that the best overall strategy would be to sell assets at Jarvis and reinvest the proceeds in overall operations and in new facilities better suited to meeting our current and future needs.

Our goal is to better meet the needs of the clients and the communities we serve and to keep growing as an organization that is making a real difference. Our current site at Jarvis and Adelaide occupies prime real estate and requires a significant amount of money and resources to run effectively.

The current aging downtown facilities are hindered by traffic congestion, a small parking lot with no space for supporters to drop off donations, and a building layout and setup that is inadequate for our current needs and future growth plans. For example, at our Jarvis location we have 9 elevators and 3 scissor lifts to maintain and 1 is down almost every week. We've outgrown this space and by relocating to two new sites we are improving our efficiency and effectiveness.

We believe the sale of the building, and the opportunities the sale will create for our future, is the right strategy. We are strongly committed to our mission of helping more and more people facing employment barriers to enter the work force each year, and this sale gives us the resources, in terms of cash and better equipment and facilities, that we need for the future.

Changes that are underway will provide more modern and efficient equipment and facilities at several locations and improve access to Goodwill's retail and distribution operations. Let me take a moment to describe these changes.

1. New Locations

• Goodwill’s main store and creative services at Jarvis and Adelaide Streets will move to 345 Bloor Street East at Sherbourne Street on May 1, 2005. The Jarvis Main Retail Store and Creative Services group will remain at the Jarvis site during the month of April. Goodwill administrative offices at Jarvis and Adelaide Streets will also relocate to 365 Bloor Street East, March 30th, 2005.

• Goodwill's Depot and Warehouse and Buy The Pound Outlet Store at Jarvis and Adelaide Streets will move to 50 Emblem Court in Scarborough on March 31, 2005.

• Goodwill will leave its footprint behind by maintaining a presence at its historic Jarvis-Adelaide location with a nearby Donation Drop-Off Centre at the corner of George and Richmond Streets at 231 Richmond Street East. People will be able access this donation depot with ease as it is designed as a drive through drop off spot. The donation centre opens in April, 2005.

• Goodwill's new store at 345 Bloor St. E. is a first in that it is a mall location that is designed to provide a much more customer friendly shopping environment. Its location in a mall means easier access and all-weather convenience for shoppers, as well as easier access by TTC as it is right on the Bloor subway line as well as on major bus routes.

We expect this new location to be a big success and to provide valuable input toward Goodwill's plans for future retail locations.

At one time, Goodwill and Salvation Army were alone without many competitors in the thrift store marketplace, but not so today. We must remain competitive in order to fulfill our goal and Goodwill vision.

We must respond by staying abreast with modern trends and update our equipment and our stores. We must continue to invite the shopper and donor in, by creating an environment that is welcoming and “shopper friendly”.

The income from our sales pays for the infrastructure and people we need to deliver our mission effectively. It is our primary objective to help more and more people facing employment barriers to enter the work force each year. These people can be helped in finding permanent employment through Goodwill transitional employment. Today I am pleased to announce that Goodwill is committed to enabling as many as 1,000 people overcome employment barriers each year.

2. Transitional Employment

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 conjunction with the on-the-job skills training, participants learn additional life skills, necessary in enabling them to find and keep permanent full-time employment. For people with little or no work experience or marketable skills, transitional employment serves as a first job-an opportunity to obtain essential experience and to development transferable skills. Goodwill knows that sustained employment is a process; not an event. Treating people with dignity and respect offers them hope for a better future.

To offer transitional employment, we need to create a safe environment where a self-directed team can process increased flows of donated goods

To generate sufficient sales income to cover the cost of these activities. This can be done only if we receive greater volumes of quality goods from the community, and merchandise these goods in a competitive way. Our store must become bright, clean and inviting to everyone.

A Goodwill environment must be clean and safe physically, emotionally, and professionally, to enable people who have encountered employment barriers, to overcome these hurdles and become employed and self-reliant. To create this environment, Goodwill has adapted the continuous improvement principles of Kaizen, or the Toyota Way, into our operations.

By integrating the Kaizen principles of continuous business improvement into what we do, our vision is “to deliver our mission in an environment that is safe physically, emotionally and professionally. Our work will be self-directed, standardized, and collaborative within a culture that encourages continuous improvement and respects diverse perspectives. We will build partnerships in our communities and successfully compete in the markets in which we operate.”

We think that Kiazen’s workplace ethic of collaboration and continuous improvement is a good fit for our organization. The Kaizen model will be critical to the success of Goodwill’s expanding transitional employment programs in the future.

Exactly 10 months ago, we began a pilot program using kaizen principles in Goodwill’s Dixie/Dundas facility.

The Dixie pilot program has shown that the kaizen culture creates an ideal environment for the integration of a successful transition employment program.

3. Enhanced marketing

Goodwill is more than a store, and its core mission of empowering community members through workforce development is only one aspect of what it represents.
You will also see a new Goodwill marketing campaign that supports Goodwill’s core philosophy –

That vibrant communities are built on access to employment, and Goodwill is here to provide transitional employment opportunities to ensure that this occurs. Ultimately, Goodwill community at work.

4. Job Growth in 2005

Goodwill employs about 700 people in the GTA. While the sale of the Jarvis St. Location will create some temporary job loss, our transformation will also result in net job growth throughout the year.

For example,

• Transforming the Richmond St. Garage into a Goodwill Community Donation Centre will create at least five new jobs.

• A new depot in Mississauga will open in the Fall of 2005, creating approximately 15-20 new jobs.

• We plan to open approximately 10-12 new Goodwill donation sites next year, creating approximately 30-36 new jobs and growing.

We continue to expand and adapt our other current store locations, like Roncesvalles in the Parkdale community, and Overlea in Thorncliffe Park Community, we are also active in Regent Park, where we are working with groups like Downtown East Community Development Collective and in Mississauga, with Dixie Bloor Neighbourhood Services. We are hoping to offer transitional employment in our store at Parliament and Gerrard. We are also working together with the Daily Bread Food Bank to continue offering food services transitional employment.

Today, Goodwill is committed to enabling as many as 1,000 people overcome employment barriers each year.

Click here for more information about Goodwill's Community Information Night on Wednesday, February 16, 2005.

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