For the third consecutive year, Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia and the Lenape Regional High School District have partnered in a competition to see which of the district’s four high schools can collect the most donations for Goodwill through April 22. Cherokee has yet to be defeated having captured top honors in the Give to Goodwill competition for the past two years.
This Give to Goodwill community service project was organized by Foundation of Leadership students and faculty advisors from each high school. Proceeds from the sale of all donations collected fund Goodwill’s job training programs and career services that help local residents with disabilities and disadvantages get to work. Since its inception in 2011, Lenape Regional High School students have collected 58,856 pounds of donations for Goodwill.
“The Lenape Regional High School District is pleased to be partnering with Goodwill once again,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carol Birnbohm. “I couldn’t be more proud of our students for their incredible support of this philanthropic endeavor. Give to Goodwill continues to grow each year and it is because of their steadfast commitment.”
The pressure is on for students, parents and faculty at Lenape, Shawnee, Cherokee and Seneca to begin cleaning out their closets, basements and garages and then to donate gently-used unwanted items to Goodwill. Donation containers will be conveniently located in each school’s parking lot during the spring-cleaning season. Once full, a Goodwill truck will empty the container; count the number of bags in it; and then compute the number of pounds of donations collected. Donation results for each school will be periodically posted on the district’s website and on Goodwill’s Facebook page. The school that collects the most donations based on pounds will be crowned the 2014 champions and receive a plaque that can proudly be displayed at their school until the 2015 competition begins.
“I applaud all of the students in the Lenape Regional High School District for embracing Goodwill in this friendly competition,” said Goodwill’s president and CEO Mark B. Boyd. “Joining forces like this produces remarkable results in the form of over 58,000 pounds of donations which are in turn transformed into countless hours of job training for local residents with disabilities and disadvantages.”
Goodwill encourages donations of clothing, accessories, shoes, toys, books and other household items. A nonprofit, community-based organization, all donations are tax deductible per IRS law. Donors who would like a receipt for tax purposes can obtain one in the main office of any of the four schools.
