4,445 Pounds of Winter Coats

You’re familiar with the process: when you donate items to Goodwill, we sort and resell them. But not all donations have the same life cycle. Clothing is provided to people in our programs as they prepare for job interviews. Some items are recycled. And other items are donated a second time to Goodwill’s community partners.

In the last year, Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota donated 4,445 pounds of warm winter coats to the Hennepin and Ramsey County sheriff's offices. Many people are brought to local detention centers without adequate clothing for cold weather, or they may have their clothing seized as evidence by arresting officers. Often the people served by the sheriff’s offices lack an outside support system to bring them clothing upon their release, and in these instances, the coats donated by Goodwill are provided to them at no cost.

Next time you donate items to Goodwill, take a moment to visualize the ripple effect.

• First, you’re keeping stuff out of landfills — Goodwill diverts more than 60 million pounds of materials from Minnesota landfills every year.
• The box or bag you donate items in will be reused at checkout to reduce Goodwill’s impact on the environment — or it might find a second life at a local food shelf.
• If your items are purchased by Goodwill shoppers, proceeds will support programs that move four Minnesotans into the workplace every day.
• Items that don’t go home in a shopper’s bag may keep someone hydrated at an all-night art festival, or keep someone warm as they leave a local detention center.

One donation touches many lives, and Goodwill thanks you for your generosity and your commitment to making a difference.