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Goodwill Industries International is planning an expansion into Puerto Rico and has chosen affiliate Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana to oversee the effort, the not-for-profit announced Thursday morning.
By 2024, Goodwill aims to establish three stores in Puerto Rico and have 40 to 80 employees working on the Caribbean island.
Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana plans to establish “Goodwill de Puerto Rico,” adding to the more than 150 independent Goodwill organizations in North America.
Rockville, Maryland-based Goodwill Industries International chose Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana after a bidding process, said Ivan Cropper, VP of marketing and communications for the local organization.
Goodwill of Southern & Central Indiana operates in 39 counties and has more than 70 retail outlets as well as charter schools for adults and youth, a maternal-child health program and a child care center. In 2010, it created adult high schools known as Excel Centers. Eight states and Washington, D.C., have since opened Excel Centers.
“Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana has established itself as a leader in mission services,” Steve Preston, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International, said in written comments. “Its ability to create and implement programs that address the needs of its communities and quantify the impact of these programs was a compelling factor in their selection. We are excited to have them lead the way for Goodwill as we enter Puerto Rico.”
The search for the organization’s first employee in Puerto Rico has already begun, and Cropper said the organization plans to complete Goodwill de Puerto Rico’s articles of incorporation by the end of this year.
“As we move into the build phase, it [will be] an established entity, separate from Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana,” Cropper told IBJ.
Two retail stores and one Goodwill Outlet will be established on the island. While employees with Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana will assist in the establishment of Goodwill’s presence, the organization will hire islanders to staff the stores.
“We think it’s really important that Goodwill de Puerto Rico be Puerto Rican, to be honest with you,” Cropper said. “It is created to address issues that may exist on the island, and that means working with folks from the island to help develop this.”
Goodwill is mission-based, Cropper said, and these retail stores are just a method to drive employment. After establishing the stores, Goodwill will proceed with establishing the Nurse Family Partnership—a program that pairs home nurses with low-income, first-time moms—and then the Excel Center, the not-for-profit’s adult high school model.
Puerto Rico has a population of 3.2 million, less than half of Indiana’s, according to 2022 Census estimates. About 78% of Puerto Rican adults older than 25 have a high school diploma, compared to nearly 90% in Indiana.
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