Area nonprofits should apply now to receive Give Back vouchers
PITTSBURGH, May 12, 2021 — In response to the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on our region, Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania will be providing a total of $200,000 in thrift store vouchers throughout its 17-county territory in southwestern Pennsylvania and north central West Virginia. Goodwill will work with area nonprofit and government partners to place “Give Back” vouchers to Goodwill thrift stores into the hands of those who need them.
Goodwill is immediately seeking nonprofit partners to apply to receive Give Back vouchers in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland Counties in southwestern PA and Barbour, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Randolph, Taylor and Upshur in north central West Virginia. Interested 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations should fill out an on-line application, available at www.goodwillswpa.org/give-back. After a review process, selected organizations will receive batches of Give Back vouchers that they can distribute to their own program participants.
“COVID-19 has had such a major impact on people in our communities, including to those who have lost their job or a portion of their income because of the pandemic,” said Andrew Marano, Vice President of Donated Goods Retail at Goodwill SWPA. “Our thrift stores generate a large amount of the funding needed for Goodwill’s mission to provide job training and education for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. But in the wake of COVID-19 with unemployment rates over 6%, we have initiated our Give Back program to provide even more help to people in our region.”
The Give Back vouchers can be used to purchase donated items for sale at
any Goodwill SWPA thrift store. For a listing of Goodwill SWPA stores, visit www.goodwillswpa.org/goodwill-stores.
Goodwill “Give Back” Voucher Initiative Page 2
The deadline for organizations to apply to participate in the Give Back program is June 1, 2021. Selected organizations will begin receiving their vouchers in June so that they can be used beginning July 1, 2021. For more information on the Give Back program, visit www.goodwillswpa.org/give-back, or contact Goodwill SWPA’s Welcome Center at 1-877-499-3526 or [email protected].
Individuals who are looking to participate in Goodwill SWPA job training or education programs for help to obtain a job can also contact the Goodwill SWPA Welcome Center. For more information about Goodwill SWPA’s mission program, visit www.goodwillswpa.org/programs-and-services.
