Bird Key Yacht Club enjoys Goodwill and good friends

Goodwill is synonymous with a good deal, and Goodwill Manasota has proven to be the real deal. The “business with a charitable purpose” has a $90.1 million impact across four counties: Sarasota, Manatee, Hardee and DeSoto. 

Susan Lowy is the manager of instructional design and training and is also a member of the Bird Key Yacht Club. She and Director of Community Engagement Pavitra Ciavardone spoke at the club’s Seafarers lunch and lecture series on Feb. 1. 

In 2021, Goodwill Manasota served 5,346 individuals, provided 170 job placements, assisted 381 veterans, provided 102,608 hours of education and training, collected 212,436 pounds of food for local food banks and diverted 57.4 million pounds of old stuff from local landfills. Currently, it has 750 employees.   

Drive anywhere in America, and you’re bound to pass a Goodwill donation center, and Lowy says that’s by design. 

“The reason we’re so successful with our large number of donations — we had over 900,000 last year — is because it’s convenient,” she said. “People can drive in, drop it off. There’s someone there to greet you, take in your donation, hand you a tax receipt, and you can leave.”

Goodwill Manasota is one of 155 independent affiliates. In the local area alone, there are 22 donation centers, 10 retail stores, two bookstores and two bargain bins. 

“We are always one of the top two performing Goodwills in our network, which means that we’re in a position to help other Goodwills that are struggling,” Ciavardone said. “We have been on the forefront of innovation and workforce development.”

Manasota became an affiliate in 1981, and many of the affiliate programs were created in this area, including the Role Model Worker Program. The Job Connection program was the first self-funded program of all Goodwills, and it also has a consulting arm that serves as a training center for other affiliates.