Advance registration required.  No cost for Planning for Good clients / $ 175.00 for all others

Located near the intersection of Routes 1 and 3, behind Pizza Hut and the Camden National Bank, this brand new, modern 12,000 square-foot Goodwill store will provide the community with a valuable shopping experience–and an easy way to drop off donated goods.  A convenient drive-through area will allow staff members to assist with all donations. 

The store will carry a combination of new and donated goods, from clothing, books, and household items to furniture and jewelry.  The store and donation center hours will be Monday through Saturday 9am – 8pm and Sunday 9am – 6pm. 

“We are very excited to be opening a brand-new store in Belfast,” says Michael Coughlin, Executive Director at Goodwill Industries. “In this, our 75^th year, we continue to expand our retail operations to further our mission.” 

The Belfast Goodwill store will employ 13 full- and part-time employees.  Revenue generated through the network of 25 retail stores in northern New England enables Goodwill to fund its human services programs which assist individuals with disabilities and those who face other barriers achieve social and economic independence.  Visit Goodwill online at www.goodwillnne.org for more information.

In some reported cases, a check for a smaller amount is sent, with instructions to cash it and mail part of the money back for transaction fees. Your bank account information is also required. After the checks are cashed, scammers use the information to empty your account.

Goodwill is not affiliated with this scam. Please disregard any notifications with the “Goodwill Lotto” name. If you believe you’ve been scammed please contact your local police.

Goodwill Industries International is a network of 186 Goodwill agencies in United States and Canada, and fifteen other countries. For more information visit www.goodwillnne.org

“From the many highly qualified candidates who sought the position, Mike has a unique combination of skills that made him our clear choice,” said Matt Hunter, Director and Chair of the Search Committee.

Coughlin previously was National Director of Client Services and Vice President for Research and Development for CHC- Working Well, a Canadian behavioral health provider ranked as one of the 50 best managed, private companies in the country. He also served as Vice President of Operations for Warren Shepell consultants of Canada, where he oversaw 28 offices spread across Canada and led a professional staff of 1,200 which served some 70,000 clients each year.

For the last four years, Coughlin has served as the Executive Director of Genesis Behavioral Health, a Comprehensive Community Mental Health Center that serves the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Under his leadership, Genesis has grown its revenues by a third, markedly expanded its partnerships with other organizations, and improved its quality of care.

Coughlin holds a Masters degree in Social Work from Columbia University and began his career as a child care worker and counselor. Coughlin will succeed Dr. Kevin Baack, who is retiring in early May having served as Goodwill’s Executive Director for three decades.

“In so many ways Dr. Baack has shaped Goodwill into the dynamic organization that it is today,” says Judith Stone, President of Goodwill Board of Directors. “Whoever succeeded him would have a tremendous challenge before them,” Stone continues, “We are confident, that based on both Mike’s past accomplishments and his deep interest in the mission and future of Goodwill, that he will be able to build upon the work Dr. Baack has done.”

“I am privileged to be joining a tremendous Board and staff at Goodwill Industries of Northern New England, to continue the work started by Dr. Helms 105 years ago,” says Coughlin. “It is an honor – and a little daunting – to be following in the footsteps of Dr. Kevin Baack, who has led Goodwill for so long, and who has helped it become one of the strongest nonprofit agencies in New England. I promise to dedicate myself to honoring the work of those who came before, by maintaining the values and traditions that have made Goodwill so successful, by always remembering the clients we serve, and by looking for innovations that will shape our next 100 years.”

Goodwill Industries of Northern New England has been a community resource since 1933. Its programs are offered for people who live with disabilities or other disadvantages with a mission of promoting independence and community inclusion. Goodwill’s four major program areas are Employment Services, Brain Injury Services, Deaf Services, and Developmental Disability Services providing support for over 4,000 people throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. These programs are funded in part by the revenues from Goodwill’s 23 retail stores.

Goodwill Industries International is a network of 185 local, autonomous Goodwill Industries organizations in the United States and Canada, and 45 international associate members in 34 countries. For more information visit www.goodwillnne.org

Cell phones, car and home chargers, collected in Goodwill stores are being recycled by ReCellular, a national company from Dexter, Michigan. This partnership between the Goodwill and ReCellular is a fitting one. Both organizations look to help the planet and environment by recycling and reusing items to help eliminate waste.

A phone that is sent to ReCellular will be broken down and sorted by its various parts. A data eraser will eliminate all personal data and information. For those of us who don’t trust a company to do it, we can visit the wirelessrecycling.com website to get instructions on how to do it ourselves. Once the cell phone is dissected and tested, it is combined with other cell phone parts to make a new phone. Half of ReCellular’s phones are sent to domestic resellers, the other half to developing countries in Africa, South America, and Asia. ReCellular is on schedule to resell 4 million phones in 2007.

How is my donation benefiting Goodwill? The funds received for cell phone donations help fund Goodwill’s human service programs in Maine and New Hampshire for people with disabilities.

“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with a nationally recognized company who believes in recycling, much like Goodwill,” says Randy Finamore, Director of Retail Services at Goodwill Industries of Northern New England. “Expanding our services for our donors and shoppers is another way we can reach out to our communities and bring customers what they are looking for in a Goodwill store,” says Finamore.

Goodwill is a human service organization and a net-work of nonprofit businesses. Revenue generated in Goodwill’s retail stores help fund programs for people with disabilities. For more information visit www.ginne.org.