Sixty Years of Raising Possibility

What began as the Edmonton Physically Handicapped Association in 1950, later took on a donated goods model similar to Goodwill’s. In 1957, Board President H.R. Henderson visited several Goodwill stores during a trip to the United States. He was so convinced of the effectiveness of the model that he sought to apply it here in Alberta.

The first Edmonton Goodwill Store opened in 1963, and has been contributing to our rich heritage ever since. The Alberta Tartan, a textile garment using colours to represent Alberta’s landscape, was designed and woven at the Goodwill Centre.

It was in 1969 that Goodwill first partnered with and began receiving funding from the United Way. They were with Goodwill when our name changed to Goodwill Rehabilitation Services of Alberta, and after we became Goodwill Industries of Alberta in 1996. More than forty years later, both the United Way, and more recently, the Alberta Lottery Fund, remain proud sponsors.

We received our first designation from the Commission and Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) in 1983. CARF is an international accreditation provider that ensures the highest quality of health and human services standards are being met. This was to be the first in a long list of awards Goodwill Industries of Alberta and Goodwill Industries International would receive.

In 2009, the most successful Goodwill donation centre in our history was opened on Bow Trail in Calgary, proving that as time goes on, Goodwill’s ability to create change in the lives of disadvantaged people is only getting stronger.