History
Reverend Edgar James Helms, a Methodist minister, started Goodwill Industries International in 1902. From his church in Boston's South End, he saw a need to help the people who lived in this forsaken part of town. Receiving donations of clothing from the wealthier residents of Beacon Hill, he began employing impoverished individuals to repair and refurbish the used items to sell. Initially he wanted to give the employees the clothing for free in return for their labor. These workers realized that they didn't want a