Arizona Businesses Donate to Goodwill
As Goodwill continues to help record numbers of central Arizona youth and adults find work and receive employment services, the support and outreach of local businesses and corporations supports our long-term success. The partnership of community organizations helps Goodwill’s strengthen its ability to uplift more disadvantaged communities through additional funding and material donations that we can sell in our stores.
Lovitt & Touche, one of the largest insurance agencies in the United States, aims to lead by example.
Lovitt & Touche launched a campaign in June that encouraged all Phoenix-area employees to bring their gently used treasures and household goods to the office so the items could be collected and donated to Goodwill of Central Arizona.
The donation drive was coordinated by Lovitt & Touche’s CARES Committee which strives to donate cash, goods, or time to a charity or organization each month. Kristine Erickson, chairperson of the CARES Committee, said that her team chose Goodwill because the organization “exemplifies that service through its program to put people to work, enabling them to create better lives for themselves and their families.”
“Every week a friendly reminder went out via e-mail and the items slowly piled up in our storeroom as the month drew to a close,” said Erickson. “We have always had a wonderful group of employees who give generously of their time and money to various charities and organizations throughout the Valley.”
Lovitt & Touche’s donations were brought to Goodwill’s Scottsdale & Weber store in July and filled two gaylords. The company also made a $270 cash donation.
“We were grateful for Goodwill’s transportation department which saved us the effort of getting everything over to the store ourselves,” said Erickson.
The sale of the donated items will ultimately be turned into dollars that fund our 36 human service and job training programs. Moreover, the donations support Goodwill’s recycling initiative which keeps more than 100 million pounds of goods out of Arizona’s landfills each year.
Erickson said that Lovitt & Touche plans to keep a donation bin at its Phoenix office so it can continue its support of Goodwill’s mission.
“This is one of the easiest ways for companies to involve their employees in giving back to the community,” said Erickson. “The majority of us all have way too much 'stuff.' If that 'stuff' can be used to improve the life of another, why wouldn’t you do it?”
For more information, please contact Richmond J. Vincent, Jr., Director of Community Development, at (602) 535-4045 or richmond.vincent@goodwillaz.org.
Pictured: Goodwill of Central Arizona's Jim Teter (second left) and Richmond Vincent (far right) greet Lovitt & Touche employees at the Weber store in Tempe on July 6.
