The Goodwill of North Georgia store on Roswell Road has long been a flurry of activity and hope for the Buckhead community. The sole Buckhead location, which opened in 2009, has impressive statistics: it receives approximately 5,000 donation visits per month, or 60,000 per year. Each month, the store greets an average of 26,000 shoppers, accounting for 12,500 transactions, according to Elaine Armstrong, the vice president of marketing for Goodwill of North Georgia.
“Buckhead is a very successful store. I love telling people that when they donate to us, the donation stays in the community. We don’t move stuff around, we don’t ship goods across the country. Things that come through the Buckhead store will stay in the community,” she says. They hire from the Buckhead community, with about 30 on staff.
Goodwill history
Goodwill was founded at the turn of the century by a Boston-based Methodist minister who wanted to combine job creation with community reuse. Goodwill of North Georgia was founded 100 years ago out of the same spirit. Now, the organization serves 45 Georgia counties with 70 stores and more than 40 donation centers and 14 career centers. In 2024, the organization was recognized as the number one Goodwill in the nation based on the number of people employed.
So far, Goodwill of North Georgia has served over 6,200 people in Buckhead in the last 10 years who were looking for a job, a better jor, or a career. It’s placed over 3,200 of them in high-demand jobs such as supply chain management and highway construction. Since it’s founding, the organization has served over 700,000 people total across the counties it serves and helped 300,000 people with job placements since the first career center opened in 1995. It has also supported more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, driving an economic impact totalling over $1 billion annually.
“Our mission at Goodwill is to put people to work,” says Armstrong. “It sounds like an easy statement, but there’s a lot that goes into it. We help North Georgians find jobs, connect to employers, and get the training and support they need for a career.”
More than stores and donations
People are familiar with the organization’s stores and donations, but for Armstrong, it’s all about the job placements. “We’ve served thousands of people in the Buckhead area and helped them get jobs, not just jobs at Goodwill. These are folks going to work in companies across different industries, and we’re excited to say we’ve helped place them. We’re making an impact right there in the community. It’s not a handout, it’s a hand up,” Armstrong says. She particularly loves that Goodwill not only makes the connection, but also participates in follow-up. “We want to make sure that the job is right for them. We stay connected, and we measure retention. We want them to be successful.”
Shopping at Goodwill is something Buckhead residents can always feel good about, but during its centennial, the organization is rewarding and incentivizing its loyal customer base even more. This year, it debuted its first-ever loyalty program to help deepen the relationship between the store and the community, something longtime shopper Telicia Reed will take advantage of.
She’s been shopping at the Buckhead location of Goodwill for 12 years, heading there up to four times a week. She considers herself a “hardcore thrifter” for her business, Thrifty Rich Chick, and prefers that location due to the experience—not to mention the finds, such as a Maitland Smith lamp and a Chanel dress. “I know the people who work there, the staff. The management is pretty exceptional, and they always have a warm and welcoming energy, and they keep a lot of quality products flowing through,” she says. “It feels like family a bit.”
Reed is fully aware of where the money she spends at Goodwill is going. “I love their mission of putting people to work, job training, career development, and other opportunities. It’s definitely part of my reason for shopping there over other stores. It makes the experience more rewarding,” she says. “As a small business owner myself, I like to feel like my shopping contributes to a bigger purpose of helping others.”
