Mesquite Showgirls Linda Gault and Lila Williams along with Mesquite Mayor Al Litman and Goodwill ambassadors pose for a picture on the back of the truck they hope to fill during the Southern Nevada Goodwill Challenge held on Tuesday, April 26. Photo by Teri Nehrenz
On Tuesday, April 26 Goodwill of Southern Nevada posed a challenge to all 5 Mayors in the Clark County District including Mesquite Mayor Al Litman.
The Goodwill donation truck set up at the Walmart parking lot at 10 a.m. and donations slowly began rolling in. Several cars stopped when they saw the lovely showgirls, in costume, greeting the donors or maybe they stopped for the Mayor; who knows? About the only thing that really matters is they stopped and they donated.
Donations given to this challenge and to Goodwill Industries in general support a plethora of programs for families, Veterans, job building skills and eco-friendly projects.
Director of Community Affairs for Southern Nevada, Walter Lescano, says that the program’s donations never go into the trash. Over 816, 243 Nevadans donated goods to over 40 donation centers in Southern Nevada in 2015.
Those goods were either sold or recycled which generated funding that provided 12, 357 people with employment skills which led to their placement in sustainable jobs.
Lescano reiterated some facts from their printed materials, “For every dollar donated to Goodwill individuals earn $24 in wages, “It’s a strong return on investment of our community’s donated financial contributions”. We kept 25 million pounds of trash out of local landfills which protects our environment. Goods that aren’t recycled or sold at retail outlets are sold in bulk to outside agencies ensuring that Goodwill maximizes all donations that are received.
Aliah Jones and partner German Torres load the Goodwill truck in the Walmart parking lot with donations received from Mesquite residents on Tuesday, April 26 as part of the Southern Nevada Goodwill Community Challenge. Photo by Teri Nehrenz
In the past year Goodwill of Southern Nevada has helped people such as Aliah Jones who just recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan. Jones said his transition from the military life to civilian life wasn’t an easy one, he had trouble finding employers who would accommodate and incorporate his knowledge and training from the military into a civilian job plus allow him to use his G. I. Bill to attend school. Goodwill provided him the opportunity to make that transition much smoother. Goodwill helps anyone and everyone, not just the military men and women, who need help in training and job placement.
Jones has worked as an Ambassador for Goodwill for eight months and is currently attending college where he is studying law. “Goodwill has provided me with opportunity to use my G. I. Bill, encourages me to pursue my education and I get the opportunity to work with other Veterans who have found the transition difficult. It’s easier when you can be around people you relate to and a great company like Goodwill who fosters all of that.”
Lescano told the MLN that he is in the initial stages of dialogue with Mayor Litman to see if it would be cost effective to put a distribution center in Mesquite and to eventually be able to offer the same job training and placement that Goodwill centers all over the U.S. offer.
By 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon April 26, the Goodwill Ambassadors had received donations from 18 Mesquite residents and filled four plus boxes with donated items. Lescano said, “I hope today’s challenge helps to raise awareness of Goodwill Industries and the enormous amount of training, job placement and support that we can generate with these and other donations we receive. We thank the Mesquite community for allowing us to set up today and we thank all of the residents who so generously donated to our programs.”
By 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon April 26, the Goodwill Ambassadors had received donations from 18 Mesquite residents and filled four plus boxes with donated items. Lescano said, “I hope today’s challenge helps to raise awareness of Goodwill Industries and the enormous amount of training, job placement and support that we can generate with these and other donations we receive. We thank the Mesquite community for allowing us to set up today and we thank all of the residents who so generously donated to our programs.” Photo by Teri Nehrenz
For more information on Goodwill Industries and how you can donate or receive help, contact www.Goodwill.Vegas. All donations are tax deductible.
Why wasn’t the public notified of this occasion? I am sure there would have been a lot of items donated & I would have been one to donate had I & everyone else known about the Goodwill truck being here in town!
It was published online twice, April 22 and 25, and channel 13 news carried a story about it over the weekend.