Goodwill Keystone Area (GKA)

        Counties Served

      Meet our CEO

      History of Goodwill

      Goodwill International

Goodwill Keystone Area (GKA)

Goodwill Keystone Area (GKA) is the result of a merger between three previously autonomous Goodwills - Goodwill Industries of Central (Harrisburg), Mid-Eastern (Reading), and Southeastern (Lancaster), PA.  By combining the resources, expertise and best practices of these three separate organizations, this new entity now provides programs and services in 22 counties.

The vision of Goodwill Keystone Area continues to be empowering those we serve to reach their fullest potential as workers and as members of the broader community. We assist individuals in overcoming employment barriers, including welfare dependency, illiteracy, homelessness and disabilities, and introduce them to the power of earning a paycheck.

Counties Served by Goodwill Keystone Area

Meet our CEO, Ron Kratofil

In January 2007, Ron Kratofil became the CEO of Goodwill Keystone Area.  Over the past thirty years he has been an instrumental part of the development and growth of the Goodwill movement and held a number of positions within the organization.

At Goodwill, each day provides new employment and job training opportunities for hundreds of individuals with disabilities and other barriers to independence.  Each day also provides us with the opportunity to sell donated items in our retail stores which creates additional opportunities and resources for those we serve. 

On January 1, 2007 I began my new role as CEO.  It is a responsibility I look forward to and I am committed to furthering our mission of assisting individuals in overcoming employment barriers – including welfare dependency, illiteracy, and disability – and introducing individuals to the power of earning a paycheck.  With your on-going support, I know we will continue to accomplish this goal, one day at a time.

History of Goodwill

Rev. Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister, founded Goodwill in Boston, Massachusetts in 1902.   As a pastor in the Boston community, Rev. Helms noticed that many individuals in the neighborhood were in desperate need of clothing and household goods.   Many of these individuals were also unemployed due to language barriers and limited job skills. 

In response to this crisis, Rev. Helms asked the members of his congregation to collect used household goods and clothing from the wealthier areas of the city. Once the items were collected, he invited anyone in the community to come in the next week and take what they needed.   But when Rev. Helms opened the doors, he was greeted with pushing and shoving as individuals desperately tried to take as many items as they could to help support their family. 

Rev. Helms decided that there must be a better way to help the community and so he again asked his congregation members to collect used household goods and clothing but this time he trained and hired the poor and immigrants to mend and repair the used goods. The goods were then resold or were given to the people who repaired them. The system worked, and the Goodwill philosophy of "a hand up, not a hand out" was born.

As Rev. Helms had intended 100 years ago, the goal of Goodwill remains unchanged today:   to help individuals find productive and competitive employment and contribute to our community’s economic vitality.

Goodwill Industries International is a network of 207 community-based, autonomous member organizations that serves people with workplace disadvantages and disabilities by providing job training and employment services, as well as job placement opportunities and post-employment support.

With locations in the United States, Canada and 22 other countries, Goodwill helps people overcome barriers to employment and become independent, tax-paying members of their communities. To fund our mission, we collect donated clothing and household goods to sell in our 1,900 retail stores and provide contract labor services to business and government.   We also receive funding from donations as well as corporate, foundation and government grants.

Nearly 85 percent of our revenues are channeled into job training and placement programs and other critical community services.

To visit the GII website click here:  www.goodwill.org