On September 22, Goodwill of Central Iowa celebrated its upcoming move to a new headquarters and training facility in Johnston, IA, and announced the launch of its first capital campaign in 20 years.
About 100 people attended the event at Goodwill’s new facility, which is being renovated to house the agency’s corporate headquarters, a training center, a new retail store and a career connection center offering free walk-in employment assistance to anyone.
The Goodwill plans to open the retail store this fall, and move the rest of its operations in March 2016 from the north side of Des Moines.
Goodwill President Marlyn McKeen estimated that Goodwill program participants last year generated $29.8 million for the local economy. He added that in 2015, his Goodwill has already helped to place more than 700 program participant in jobs, besting its record last year, when 565 people were placed in jobs at more than 325 companies locally.
Danielle Bell, chair of Goodwill’s board of directors, announced Goodwill’s $8 million capital campaign, “Celebrating our Past…Building Futures.” Money raised from this campaign will be used to complete the building renovations, move the headquarters and keep funding to Goodwill programs uninterrupted.
Paula Dierenfeld, mayor of Johnston, welcomed Goodwill to the community.
“We look forward to Goodwill being here and being part of the Johnston community,” she said. “Goodwill is a great organization. We expect you’ll continue to grow and be very successful here in Johnston.”
McKeen stressed that Goodwill’s mission – to provide skills training and help people find jobs – has not changed since its founding.
“Sixty years later our mission is still the same, and this new location will allow us to continue to grow and provide services for more central Iowans,” he said.
