Submitted by Jose Medellin, Goodwill
Twenty-five girls from North Plainfield Girl Scout Troop 65141 stopped by the local Goodwill store to drop off bags of clothing on the morning of Saturday, January 12, 2019. The donation drive is one of the learning activities that scouts engage and are compensated with patches for their community service.
Newly elected U.S. Congressman Tom Malinowski (NJ District 7) helped present the scouts with GoodTurn patches, which were designed by the marketing department of Goodwill NYNJ, to the girl scouts for their donations.
After a Q/A with Congressman Malinowski, the scouts toured the store to learn about the production process and how donations are sorted and tagged before going to the sales floor.
Troop Leader Danielle Roberto said, “We are a multi-level troop, all living in north Plainfield. We have first, third, fourth, and sixth graders in our troop. We are the biggest troop right now in town.”
The scouts, their siblings and parents learned of the importance of donating the usable clothing and household goods their families no longer need instead of dumping them in the garbage.
Donations support the mission of Goodwill NYNJ of empowering individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment to gain independence through the power of work.
Goodwill NYNJ helped residents divert more than 135 million lbs of usable goods out of the landfills in 2017.
Goodwill creates jobs and in 2017, the nonprofit hired or developed job opportunities for more than 4,000 job-seekers, including over 1,300 individuals with disabilities. In addition, one in seven people working in Goodwill NYNJ is a person with disabilities.
Goodwill NYNJ holds donation drives for kids to educate children the importance of re-using, re-purposing and recycling usable goods to achieve a more sustainable society. Learn more at GoodwillNYNJ.org.
(above) U.S. Congressman Tom Malinowski met with North Plainfield Girl Scout Troop 65141 on their visit to the local Goodwill store.
