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Sat, May 17 2008 

Published April 06, 2008 06:57 am - Goodwill comes to mind for donating used clothes and furniture, not for getting your car windows tinted or print laser cartridges remanufactured.


Goodwill goes beyond used clothes



ALLENTOWN (AP) _ Goodwill comes to mind for donating used clothes and furniture, not for getting your car windows tinted or print laser cartridges remanufactured.

But Goodwill Keystone Area — in addition to its 34 stores in 22 counties, including Berks, Bucks and Lehigh — provides a host of other business services that most people never knew existed.

For more than a decade, regional Goodwill offices have played a small role as contractor of business service jobs. But there was little promotion of it until the growth of Goodwill Keystone Area, the result of a 2001 merger between three previously autonomous Goodwill agencies in Harrisburg, Reading and Lancaster.

It's what led the organization to promote the expanded services through a new awareness campaign, hoping the Goodwill name will now be known for more than drop-off centers for used merchandise.

"Since the merger, there has been an overall increase in employees and number of people who we serve," said Jennifer Ross, Goodwill Keystone Area marketing director.

"Our new tag line is that we're more than just stores. Business services helps support and fund our mission," she said.

Goodwill's mission has always been to provide job training and placement to people with disabilities and other barriers to employment, such as welfare dependency or homelessness. It now has one of the largest work forces of any Goodwill in the state, with approximately 850 men and women working in various programs, Ross said.

Through its business contracts, Goodwill Keystone offers local and national companies and government agencies outsourcing service that include packing and shipping, document shredding and custodial work. Other services include:

— Print cartridge remanufacturing since 1993

— Custodial/janitorial since 1983

— Glass laminating (car or building window tinting) since 2005

— Office, government labor since 1950

— Mailing services since 1996

— Shredding since 1999

Many of the services are performed in Goodwill's Lancaster and Harrisburg work centers, though some are done on location with supervised work crews.



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