Partners
Goodwill Industries- Big Bend, Inc. is a sustainable and successful 501(c)3 nonprofit all thanks to the generous people who donate and shop with Goodwill in the communities we serve. Goodwill not only focuses on our mission, the individuals we serve in our Career Training Centers, those that live with us in our apartments, and our dedicated employees, we take pride in investing into our communities and extending our mission by collaborating and helping other organizations fulfill their mission. Many organizations would not exist if it was not for Goodwill’s financial and personnel support. Goodwill is proud partners with the following organizations as another way to change lives and give back to our communities:
Offers free school supplies to Leon County Teachers. Goodwill partnered with Leon County Schools, Leon County and Sustainable Tallahassee to open The Sharing TREE in August 2010. Since its inception in June of 2010, The Sharing Tree has served nearly 3,000 teachers and given away over $215,000 worth of materials. Not only does The Sharing Tree give materials to the people who need them the most, but The Sharing Tree has diverted over 135,000 pounds from the local landfill. In2011, The Sharing TREE expanded to serve anyone in the community.
This shelter provides nine double bedrooms which serve up to 18 homeless individuals. The Highland Park Methodist Church Pastor operates the shelter and Goodwill pays part of the Pastor’s salary. Goodwill also wrote a grant free of charge that awarded the shelter $65,000 for renovating the showers, bathrooms, food pantry and improving the security.
WAVE, non-profit organization that provides a three-day a week vocational day program, weekly chorus practice and monthly socials for teens and adults with developmental disabilities. Goodwill provides WAVE office space free of charge with access to internet, phone lines, printer and other office supplies. Goodwill employs, offers volunteer and work experience for WAVE participants. It is WAVE philosophy to provide services that enhance the ability of each individual to be an integral part of the community and to foster friendships so as to take part in a rich social life that most of us take for granted.
“Sew For HOPE” is a community-based non-profit group affiliated with the Big Bend Homeless Coalition in Tallahassee, FL. The volunteer with Sew for HOPE make handmade quilts, blankets and stuffed animals and gives one to every child served by BBHC. Goodwill offers Sew for Hope a workspace at the Goodwill Attended Donation Center on Tharpe Street free of charge for all the volunteers to have a place to do their sewing.
Welcome Home Vets, is a non-profit organization that provides services to our soldiers with Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder, PTSD. Goodwill offers Welcome Home Vets an office and two meeting spaces for group counseling sessions free of charge.
The Tallahassee-Haiti Medical Team is a team of doctors, nurses and volunteers who travel every other month to Dumay, Haiti; ever since the devastating earthquake. THMT collects beans and rice to help feed the people of the village during their week long visits. Goodwill locations are a collection site for the community to donate rice, beans, oil, water, crutches, walkers, and other medical supplies. THMT and Goodwill shipped 30,000 lbs of materials to Dumay, Haiti in a container and every trip Goodwill assists to fill the plane with as much materials allowed. The clinic that THMT work with focuses on the amputees from the disaster.
America’s Second Harvest of the Big Bend and Catholic Charities bins are at all the Goodwill locations, Second
Harvest in Tallahassee and sounding counties and Catholic Charities in Panama City and surrounding counties. Goodwill collects food items year round and gives to the two organizations to help them fulfill their mission of fighting hunger in our communities.
Goodwill Industries- Big Bend, Inc. is the proud sponsor of Forever Family. Forever Family is a unique, non-profit organization that utilizes the power of the media, through television segments and on-air promotions, to create awareness regarding children and teens in foster care. The goal of Forever Famil
y is to find children in foster care adoptive homes, recruitment of foster parents and volunteers, and help for teens ‘aging out’ of the foster care system. Forever Family segments sponsored by Goodwill are aired twice a month on WCTV CBS Tallahassee Channel 6 and WJHG NBC Panama City Channel 7. In 2011 70% of the children filmed found their forever family.
A program designed to change lives by inspiring hope, molding character, teaching responsibility, and providing opportunity. 
Goodwill and 50 LARGE started a once a week technology program at the Tallahassee Computer/Recycling store where these young men are provided hands-on experience to refurbish computers, giving them the opportunity to learn job skills with technology.
