Quality, Value and Service – Shop Goodwill!

Southern Oregon Goodwill, like every Goodwill organization around the country, is most often recognized through one symbol: its system of retail thrift stores. (Click the link to find our retail Locations.)

The Goodwill store was born the moment Goodwill was born in 1902, and has been a fixture of the American landscape ever since. The store, and the multiple opportunities it offers for training, revenue, socializing and camaraderie, is still the backbone of virtually every one of the 177 Goodwill affiliates in the United States.

Southern Oregon Goodwill operates 14 stores in 4 counties. The stores are the engine that make our organization possible. Their fuel is an incredible level of generosity from our community. In fact, in 2001, over 190,000 individual donations were recorded. Countless more donations were received anonymously. This means millions of shirts, pants, coats, sofas, dressers, lamps, bedspreads, dishes, and virtually every other type of object you can imagine. And, it means about 55% of our annual operating budget in sales.

Each year, Southern Oregon Goodwill’s retail system employs between 400 and 500 people. Some work in the stores for only a brief period—perhaps a month or two—while others call Goodwill their job for life. In addition, the stores directly employ over 100 full-time staff, and generate millions of dollars in revenue that go to pay client and staff wages and operating overhead.