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Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey is one of the oldest Goodwill affiliates in the country, and one of more than 200 Goodwill Industries International affiliates in the United States, Canada and worldwide.
Goodwill Industries was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1902 by a Methodist minister, Edgar J. Helms. Hoping to help the many unemployed, homeless and disabled people who were living in Boston's impoverished South End, Helms collected food and clothing, distributing it to people in need. It soon became apparent to Helms that he was treating the symptoms of poverty without making much progress on the disease itself. Realizing this, he continued to collect donated clothing and other goods, but offered to repair, clean and sell the items to the public. He used the revenues to support the program.
In 1915, two clergymen, Henry Park Schauffler and Edward F. Sanderson, began a similar program in Brooklyn, NY. Schauffler and Sanderson were the first to coin the name “Goodwill.” Today Goodwill Industries has no religious affiliation.
In 1919, a Goodwill agency was established in Jersey City, New Jersey by St. Paul’s Community House. In 1922, one was founded in Manhattan with the help of the New York Protestant Missionary Society. The Brooklyn and Manhattan agencies merged in 1962, creating Goodwill Industries of Greater New York. In 1999, the Greater New York Goodwill merged with its counterpart in Northern New Jersey, creating Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, Inc.