Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1146967
B U S I N E S S P RO F I L E S 30 B U S I N E S S P R O F I L E S S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N T h r i f t s t o r e s a r e j u s t t h e b e g i n n i n g . Goodwill Northern New England is on a mission to help move 10,000 households into stability by 2027 and it's well on its way with its many diverse programs. e nonprofit social enterprise runs two brain injury clinics, 23 group homes for adults with disabilities, day programming for adults with disabili- ties and a full-service cleaning business, and it helps thousands of Mainers get job training and careers at Maine businesses. at's in addition to keeping 65 million pounds of household items out of landfills each year through reuse and recycling. An old mission in a new world Goodwill started in 1902 in Boston when its founder, Dr. Edgar Helms, a Methodist minister, looked for a way to help new immigrants get on their feet. Helms collected used household goods and clothing in wealthier areas of the city, then trained and hired people affected by poverty to mend and repair the used goods. e goods were then resold or were given to the people who repaired them. ese days, Goodwill does that work in new ways. For instance, when local busi- nesses upgrade their office computers, the old ones can be donated. Goodwill's tech- nicians wipe that data off each computer Goodwill Carleton, 72, Portland, found stable work thanks to Goodwill NNE's Job Connection program, which uses a holistic approach when supporting each participant. Way More Than Thrift Stores P H O T O F R O M G O O D W I L L N O R T H E R N N E W E N G L A N D to U.S. Department of Defense standards before refurbishing the laptops or desktops. ose computers are then given to people who need them or sold at affordable prices. e sales of comput- ers, along with the thousands of items of clothes and furniture in the nonprofit's 30 stores, all helps fund important programming. " Life wasn't ver y good before Job Connection. It feels great. I have enough money to do things I want to do. I'm happy with my life. I wasn't before because I didn't have much fun because I couldn't afford things. " — Carleton, 72