Goodwill, Serving the People of Southern Los Angeles County (Goodwill SOLAC) was established in 1929 in response to the Great Depression, which brought an increased focus to thousands of people out of work and to people with disabilities. In 1945 Goodwill responded to GI’s returning from World War II by helping them train, find jobs and assimilate back into a peacetime economy.
Our heritage dates back over 100 years to 1902 when the Reverend Edgar J. Helms put into action his vision of helping people transition from dependency to self-sufficiency through work and career development services. Rev. Helms prayed that God’s fingertips would always be on the work of Goodwill.
Goodwill shares this vision, and we take our programs and services to where the need is greatest: the community. We form alliances with like-minded organizations to offer services that help people find work and retain their jobs.
In the U.S. and Canada, there are 166 independent community-based Goodwill organizations and 13 in countries that are linked in our membership to Goodwill Industries International.