Goodwill and Roadie Team Up: Turn Donations Into Job Training & Employment Opportunities

A new partnership between Goodwill and Roadie aims to make it easier for people to donate items they no longer use or need, from clothes to couches to dressers and bicycles.

Beginning January 3 and running through February 28, Roadie — the national on-the-way delivery network — will pick up your unwanted items and take them to your nearest Goodwill donation center.

“January is typically a month when people reflect and resolve to do better. It’s also a time when donations are traditionally down for Goodwill,” said Vickie Volpano, President & Chief Executive Officer of Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut. “So, this year, we are partnering with Roadie to make donating easier than ever and asking you to resolve to be a job creator by donating to Goodwill in 2017.”

As with all items donated to local Goodwill organizations, items donated through the Roadie partnership will be sold in Goodwill stores to help fund job and skills training, both in person and online, employment placement services and other community-based programs, such as financial education and mentoring. Donations made at any time of the year are tax deductible and receipts for items shipped through the Roadie partnership will be provided by request.

First time Roadie users who donate items to Goodwill through the app or website will receive a $20 discount on the pickup and delivery fee using the promo code GOODWILL. Similarly, Goodwill shoppers who wish to use Roadie for the first time to deliver purchases to their home or office can also receive the discount.

“Roadie was built on the idea of community members helping one another. We’re happy to be partnering with Goodwill to help people give new life to the things they can no longer use, and in the process, help create jobs in communities nationwide,” said Marc Gorlin, founder and CEO, Roadie.

Roadie is the world’s first “on-the-way” delivery network that connects people who have stuff to send with drivers already headed in the right direction. By tapping into unused space in passenger vehicles already on the road, the app-based community gives users a more flexible, greener, and cost-effective way to ship locally and nationally, seven days a week. New Roadie customers can simply click on the Goodwill icon on the Roadie app or go to www.roadie.com/Goodwill to schedule a pickup.

Goodwill cannot accept certain items, including televisions, mattresses, cribs and other items due to the high cost of disposal and stringent government regulations. A complete list of acceptable items is available on the Roadie app website for your easy reference. Donors can also check on www.gwct.org.

About Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut
Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut is a non-profit organization that serves people with disabilities, economic disadvantages and other challenges to employment. Goodwill helps people achieve independence and self-sufficiency through job training and other supportive services.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Roadie is an app-based community that puts unused capacity in passenger vehicles to work by connecting people with stuff to send with drivers heading in the right direction.

Roadie’s model enables efficient, low-cost delivery for senders and rewards drivers for trips they were already taking.

Roadie is backed by Warren Stephens of Stephens Inc.; the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund; Eric Schmidt’s TomorrowVentures; David Bonderman, founder of TPG Capital; Guggenheim Partners’ Executive Chairman Alan Schwartz; Square Co-founder Jim McKelvey; the Mellon Group; former CEO of ISS Tom Noonan, and H. Barton Asset Management, among others.

Learn more about the world’s first on-the-way delivery network, www.roadie.com.