Palmetto Goodwill

Goodwill's donated goods retail program provides education, job training, and employment opportunities to people with barriers to employment by collecting and reselling retail items. Sales of donated clothing and household items provide job training and revenue for job readiness training, career exploration services, and occupational skills training. Goodwill helps people earn a living, improve their quality of life, and strengthen their families and communities by putting 91% of its revenue from its 33 thrift stores back into mission programming. Palmetto Goodwill's donation program helped keep more than 30 million pounds of waste out of south carolina landfills. Goodwill's diversion of items from landfill is good for our planet and environmentby diverting waste from our landfills, we reduce our carbon footprint and contribute to the health and sustainability of our community.

Palmetto Goodwill laid the groundwork to implement Palmetto excel center with a launch date in the fall of 2023 on the campus of trident technical college by securing charter authorization through the south carolina public charter school district. The mission of Palmetto excel is to provide adults with the opportunity and support to earn high school diplomas and post-secondary education while developing career paths that offer better-than-average employment and growth opportunities. Palmetto excel will offer a flexible, year-round schedule and supportive relationships to help students manage work, life, and family needs as they pursue their educational goals. Students will receive high-quality, direct instruction in rigorous 8-week term core courses and career certification classes through trident technical college. Additional assistance will include cost-free drop-in childcare, transportation assistance, and life coaching and career navigation services.

Palmetto Goodwill provided career navigation services to more than 10,000 unemployed or underemployed individuals. The organization provided job readiness training, career exploration services, and occupational skills training to nearly 2,500 individuals through its network of career opportunity centers, online training providers, technical school network, and other training providers to prepare individuals for in-demand careers in the fields of (1) health care and social assistance, (2) information technologies, (3) industrial trades, (4) retail trade, (5) transportation and warehousing. In addition to training, Palmetto Goodwill provided supportive services, including rent, mortgage, utility assistance, clothing vouchers, furniture vouchers, bus passes, and other transportation needs.