InvestigateTV: Goodwill program helps ex-offenders break cycle of repeat offenses
October 24, 2025; Tisha Powell and InvestigateTV Staff https://youtu.be/XRR8oCdL0dw More than 10,000 people a week are released from America’s jails and prisons with the hope of starting a new life. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, most ex-offenders will be re-arrested within three years. During that time, about half will return to prison, according to the ACLU. A program through Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana is working to change this statistic and help those who have been behind bars find success. Finding purpose after prison From top to bottom, inside and out, Tony Brown takes pride in making sure every vehicle he touches is perfect. “I always make sure it’s straight and it looks good,” Brown said. Tony works in the pre-delivery inspection department at a Baton Rouge car dealership. “We inspect the cars and get them ready before the customer gets them,” Brown said. Tony takes pride in [...]
Introducing: Stuff the Truck
At Goodwill, we believe in a hand up, not a handout. Creating opportunities for those seeking to better their circumstances is the heart of our work. Our programs help individuals with barriers improve their economic self-sufficiency by providing training, education, support services and employment. Our continued and growing efforts are only possible due to the generosity of donors, shoppers and partners like you. This fall, we’re launching a new “Stuff the Truck” initiative to both support our mission and give back to our local communities! How does it work? Pick the location and time that works best for your group. This could be a pep rally, football game, band concert, etc. Our team will bring an empty Goodwill box truck ready for your donations. Every truck filled with gently used items will earn your group $500. A truck is considered full after receiving 70 individual donations. By participating in our [...]
Goodwill Slidell Grand Opening November 6th
Join us at 9AM on Thursday, November 6th for the grand opening of our brand new Slidell Goodwill store! Located at 105 Northshore Blvd (the Village at North Shore Shopping Center), this new store is bigger and better than our previous location, and we can't wait to show you!
Outlet Store Closing at 3PM on Friday, September 12
The outlet store located inside our Goodwill East facility (5770 Read Blvd) will close at 3PM on Friday, September 12, 2025, in advance of a private event. The outlet will resume its normal business hours, opening at 9AM on Saturday, September 13.
WBRZ: Goodwill opens new location in Gonzales across street from old facility
August 21, 2025; WBRZ Staff Goodwill has officially opened its new, larger location in Gonzales across the street from their old location off South Airline Highway. Store officials said the new location is a larger space. "So we were across the street, and we've been across the street for more than 20 years. It's a smaller location, about 10,000 square feet, and so we moved here to 26,000 square feet to offer a better shopping experience for the people of Gonzales," Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana President and CEO Jodee Daroca said. Daroca said that sales help fund job training and employee services for people facing major barriers like incarceration, foster care transitions and disability. Watch the original WBRZ story here.
The Advocate: New thrift shop set to open in Baton Rouge area: ‘We needed a larger facility’
August 21, 2025; Ellyn Couvillion, staff writer A new, larger Goodwill store opened Thursday in Gonzales. "We needed a larger facility," said Ken Jones, vice president of community relations and public affairs for Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana. The nonprofit has had a presence in Gonzales for 20 years, through its store at 306 South Airline Highway. The new, 26,000-square-foot Goodwill store is nearby at 419 South Airline Highway. Goodwill Industries International, founded in 1902 and based in Rockville, Maryland, supports its workforce development and job placement programs through its more than 3,000 stores in North America, as well as others overseas. In Louisiana, Goodwill stores can be found in 11 parishes, Jones said, but the services of Goodwill — such as workforce development — operate in 23 parishes, in nonretail locations with their own computer labs for job training. Goodwill has seven other stores in metro Baton Rouge. The stores are [...]
Goodwill to be Beneficiary of Saints 50/50 Raffle at December 14 Game
Earlier this week, the New Orleans Saints announced their 2025 50/50 raffle initiative beneficiaries, and we are excited to announce Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana was chosen again this year! We will be the recipient for the week 15 game on December 14 versus the Carolina Panthers. We're proud to partner with our home team, their fans and our local community members to bring sustainable change to Southeastern Louisiana. You can begin buying 50/50 raffle tickets for the Goodwill game on December 1, or you can purchase them in-person on gameday. See the Saints' full press release on this year's 50/50 beneficiaries here.
Goodwill to Co-Host September 12 Community Career Fair
Mark your calendars to join us on September 12 for a Community Career Fair on the Northshore!
Join us in celebrating Goodwill Week!
May 4-10 is Goodwill Week, an annual celebration by local Goodwills across the United States and Canada meant to shine a light on our collective mission of helping people transform their lives through the power of work. To celebrate, we're hosting 2 career and resource fairs - one in New Orleans East and one in Baton Rouge. We hope you'll join us! You can also view our current career openings here.
Participant Spotlight: Garrett Vidrine
Meet Goodwill participant Garrett Vidrine, who started his journey with FedEx Ground in Baton Rouge as a Package Handler in August 2024 and has already been recognized as Employee of the Month for November 2024! Before finding Goodwill, Garrett faced the challenges of job searching on his own. To keep himself busy, he generously assisted an elderly neighbor with yard work and home repairs. His journey took a positive turn when the Louisiana Workforce Agency referred him to Goodwill.With the support of Laurence Williams, Goodwill's Workforce Readiness Manager in Baton Rouge, Garrett's resume was polished and connections were made that aligned him with a role at FedEx Ground. Garrett described the experience as transformative, sharing, "Once Laurence Williams came on board to help me find a job that I was interested in and I spoke to the manager at FedEx, it gave me a feeling of being valued." Garret is now thriving [...]