Goodwill Easterseals recently donated hundreds of children’s books to the James T. Strickland Youth Center, which houses between 65 and 75 children and youth daily, giving these young people something positive to do with their time. Where did all these books come from? From YOUR donations! Thank you for giving a young person a chance at a bright future! Pictured are Goodwill Easterseals Program Manager, David Nowlin and Juvenile Court referee, Linda Jensen.

View the Annual Report below to see how 11,038 lives were changed in 2016!

The first heavy equipment/construction training class has been completed! This small group held their graduation on Wednesday, July 5. The 11 graduates received NCCER core and construction equipment job skills training. Some participants already have jobs lined up, while others have interviews scheduled this week. Henry Nunn, who had the highest GPA in the class, says that this training gives him a better opportunity to provide for his family. He learned about the class at the Career Center in Bay Minette. Ty Vaughn was referred by the SNAP Employment & Training program. Both of these men have interviews lined up with Construction companies.

Did you know that there are two different versions of Goodwill Stores? Besides the standard stand-alone retail stores, Goodwill Easterseals of the Gulf Coast has two Bargain Stores, one in Mobile and one in Pensacola.

In the Bargain Stores, the merchandise is not displayed on shelves (except for a few token items). When you walk inside a Bargain Store you will see a sea of blue rolling bins that are filled with everything under the sun. These bins are refilled with goods three times a day. So be ready for the rush each time the new bins are brought into the retail area! The inventory is constantly rotating, so you never know what will be available for purchase.

Rachel, a Goodwill employee, says the Bargain Store is like Good Friday every day, with crowds at the door waiting for them to open. I arrived 30 minutes before the store opened, and a line was already forming.

The items found in the Bargain Store are items that have been on the shelves in the retail store that did not sell or smaller items just not worth pricing. You purchase some merchandise by weight. Large items, books, electronics and a few other items are priced separately, but still at a huge discount.

Here are some of the items the Bargain Store had to offer during my visit.  I was especially excited about the Telescope!