Category: Shop Online

Goodwill Salutes our Vets!


 

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By stylist and blogger, Annette K.

 

While the nation sets aside a holiday to honor our veterans each year, Goodwill is invested in their success year round.

Coming out of the military after years of service presents challenges for most Vets. With new job skills, passions and family structures, transitioning into civilian life is often overwhelming.

Goodwill Keystone Area recognizes these difficult transitions and offers help.

Military and their spouses are given a 10% discount at all of our retail stores—not just on Veteran’s day, but every day!

I met up with Trenesa Perkins at one of the Goodwill Stores in Lancaster PA for a style makeover. We wanted to create an individual style, one that matched her sophisticated and spirited personality yet still offered her versatility of wear. After searching the racks at Goodwill, Trenesa’s new style quickly came to life. And along the way, a go-to piece was discovered!

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Trenesa Perkins served in the US Navy for nearly a decade. Perkins, an E-5 Petty Officer, was stationed on the USS Abraham Lincoln – the air craft carrier that began the Iraqi War- as Air Intercept Controller/Operations Specialist. After her almost decade- long tour of active duty on the ship, she found it hard to make the transition into civilian life.

“When I left the Navy it was very hard to re-adjust. I didn’t feel as though I was prepared to become a civilian,” said Trenesa.

Goodwill offers a program for vets called Vet Success, which provides counseling, training and education to vets with service-oriented disabilities. Trenesa came to Goodwill through the Vet Success Program and received assessments to help her find new direction.

Today, Trenesa is set to graduate from Harrisburg Area Community College as a radiographer.

“One day, I hope to work in a VA hospital and serve those who served us,” said Trenesa.

Everyday is Veteran’s Day at Goodwill.

TrenesaNavyPic111113 Special Thanks to Lucas Gonzalez, manager of Goodwill East in Lancaster PA.

Special Thanks to Jeff Yanovitch from Yano Creative @yanocreative.com for pictures.

Special Thanks to Trenesa Perkins for sharing her story.

 

Movember: Styling on a Budget After Weight Loss


 

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By stylist and blogger, Annette K.

 

It’s Movember! So of course, I can’t pass up writing about health and fashion for men. Movember is an annual, month-long, November awareness campaign, usually involving the growing of mustaches by men, to raise awareness of male cancers and other health issues.

Last February, Ryan Huth, manager for the Goodwill Store and Donation Center in Allentown, PA, tipped the scale at 275 pounds. Shopping only in “big” sections, he recalls feeling “fed up and disgusted” with how he looked. He decided he “couldn’t continue like this anymore” and made a change.

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Today, eight months later, Ryan is 60 pounds lighter and committed to living a healthy lifestyle. He attributes his weight loss to portion control, reducing his carbohydrate intake, and eating salads for dinner.

“I feel great,” he says. “It’s pretty easy once you put your mind to it.”

Ryan has donated his “old” clothes to Goodwill, which is where I met him to shop for clothes and styles that show off his new, healthy physique. Check out his new looks.

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Ryan has become healthier in just a few months. He wants to lose another 40 pounds to to meet his goal, but he’s become a walking billboard for men’s health.

And one more thing, Ryan was the Goodwill Keystone Area’s Movember winner of the 2012 Best Overall Mustache. He’s clean shaven today and preparing to do battle growing a prize-winning mustache for this Movember.

Thanks to Ryan Huth, store manager of Goodwill Keystone Area’s Tilghman Square Store for sharing your story. Keep up the great work, Ryan!

For comments and blog suggestions, please contact Annette Kaiser at akaiser@yourgoodwill.org

Homecoming and Goodwill—Fit for a Queen!

By stylist and blog writer Annette K.

It’s homecoming season, a time when adults reconnect with old friends and share collective memories and when kids connect and begin creating their own.
Whether you’re a woman going to a high school or college reunion or a girl primping for the homecoming dance, Goodwill Keystone Area stores have everything you need to look and feel like a Queen.

Ladies – When deciding what to wear for your outdoor reunion, leave the lined windbreaker and mittens behind. Instead, create an image of sophistication by layering with blazers, scarves and sweater dresses. Paired with leather riding boots or booties your classic style will leave a lasting impression.

Girls – When choosing your dress for the homecoming dance, remember to consider fit first, then accessorize. Your dress should be a reflection of who you are and should move with you instead of vice versa. Accessorize with statement pieces like chunky bracelets, silver shoes, or a brilliant signature necklace to add that exclamation point to your look.

Whether dressing for a dance or a reunion, visit your Goodwill store where racks of endless possibilities await. Homecoming offers the girl a chance to look older, and the woman a chance to look younger. What Queen could pass that up?

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For comments or fashion blog suggestions, please email Annette Kaiser at akaiser@yourgoodwill.org.
Thanks to the staff at the Bethlehem Goodwill Store and to models Jodi and Jillian McSwegan.
 

Red Carpet—Color Trends for Everyone

And the big winner from this year’s Emmy Award Red Carpet Showcase is… You!

While you may not have gone to the Emmy’s in your limousine, you can immediately add elegance and style to your wardrobe from this year’s red carpet color palette.

The Pantone Color Institute – known as the international authority on color – identifies 4 colors that are universally flattering to everyone despite hair, skin or eye color or tone. These four colors–Mellow Rose, True Red, Indian Teal and Eggplant–appeared over and over again on Sunday’s 65th annual Emmy awards.universal-colors

Whether looking for formal, business or casual wear, these colors will flatter everyone. No more second guessing.
Universal colors-they are in, they’re hot and at Goodwill Keystone Area stores.

Emmy photos, www.hollywoodlife.com.
Thanks to models Ashley and Sarah- Parkland High School.
For comments or fashion blog suggestions, please email Annette Kaiser at akaiser@yourgoodwill.org.

Shop Goodwill Offers Online Auctions

This East African bottle topper is hand carved out of a rare wood and is about 50 years old.
This East African bottle topper is hand carved out of a rare wood and is 55 years old.

Goodwill stores throughout the 22-county region comprising Goodwill Keystone Area receive all sorts of interesting donations every day.  After processing and pricing, donations go directly into stores for sale to customers or to shopgoodwill.com. The profits from these sales are used to help people with disabilities and other challenges to employment through job training and other activities.

Interesting sterling silver necklaces.
Interesting sterling silver necklaces.

More than 80 Goodwills across the nation have online stores that auction merchandise on shopgoodwill.com, including five in Pennsylvania.  You can search the site by item, category or seller. Goodwill Keystone Area (GKA) has two online stores. (Click here to view merchandise currently up for auction at the Berwyn and Reading online stores.) Each online store offers brand name clothing, shoes, antiques and collectibles.

To browse merchandise on shopgoodwill.com, you can search specifically for items available online at GKA’s two stores, click the magnifying glass and browse by seller.  one your search specifically for items for sale by the Berwyn or Reading online stores.

Proceeds from these online auctions are maximized, adding additional funds to Goodwill’s mission to support persons with disabilities and other barriers to independence in achieving their fullest potential as workers and as members of the broader community.

Cyber Monday at Shopgoodwill.com

Have some fun cyber shopping today at shopgoodwill.com. We have jewelry, designer clothes, boots and handbags. Our online Goodwill store based in Reading has a piccolo metronome, right, used for keeping time

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=11909372

or a zither, below (Everyone has an uncle who plays – or should play – the zither.). These and many much more unusual gifts are up  for auction if you know an aspiring musician.

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=11911404

Find accessories from scarves to earrings to necklaces to match them…all at Goodwill – you never know what you’re going to find when you shopgoodwill.com.