nola.com: Goodwill store in Slidell opens in new, bigger location after Joann Fabrics closes
November 6, 2025; Bob Warren The Goodwill store in Slidell has moved to a new location, opening Thursday in the space formerly occupied by the Joann Fabric and Crafts store at Gause and Northshore boulevards. Goodwill's move to the Village of North Shore Mall shopping area fills a spot that came open when three Joann stores across metro New Orleans closed earlier this year, after the chain filed for bankruptcy. Goodwill had a grand opening celebration at its new Slidell location Thursday morning. "This new store isn’t just a bigger building — it’s a bigger opportunity,” Jodee Daroca, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana, said in a statement. "Every donation and every purchase helps fund programs that give people a second chance." The Slidell location is one of 23 Goodwill stores across southeast Louisiana. Around 25 people work there, said Ken Jones, Goodwill's vice president of community relations [...]
WWLTV: Goodwill of Southeastern Louisiana Helps Feed Families with Second Harvest Amid Gov. Shutdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOyGxdvoNas
WDSU: Community and Goodwill SELA stepping up to fight food insecurity
October 31, 2025; Jonah Gilmore As many people wait for SNAP benefits to hit their cards, the community is stepping up and getting creative to fight food insecurity. Across Southeast Louisiana, from candy bowls to grocery store counters, community members and local organizations are finding new ways to support families in need. This Halloween, some folks are putting a new twist on their candy bowls, adding non-perishables alongside the sweets. "I've seen it on social media yesterday," said Angela Kennard. A post turned into a call to action as Kennard saw social media putting a twist on Halloween's tricks. "You have kids that don't know necessarily where their next meal comes from, and having something in a bowl that they can pick, either some SpaghettiO's, ramen noodles, tuna. Just something that they may like, that's a great concept," Kennard said. The small gestures reflect something bigger, a community determined to [...]
WGNO: Second Harvest Food Bank looks for community help ahead of SNAP cuts
October 31, 2025; Rick Gogreve Two federal judges have ruled that the Trump administration must continue to fund the SNAP program in spite of the government shutdown. From what we understand, partial SNAP funding from Louisiana will start on Nov. 1, and it may be as long as two weeks before the full federal funding starts up again. Until then, many recipients may look to food pantries that are supplied by Second Harvest Food Bank. “We’re prepared as we can be. We have coordinated with our 500 partners throughout our 23 parish service area to make sure the food that we have here is being deployed as efficiently as possible, and it gets to those people in need,” John Sillars, Second Harvest Food Bank Chief Strategy Officer, said. Sillars said that even before the government shutdown, the organization was already experiencing problems. “Even before Oct. 1 and the government shutdown, we [...]
FOX8: Goodwill to help Second Harvest amid surge in demand as the government shutdown continues
October 31, 2025; Sabrina Wilson Amid concerns over a potential suspension of SNAP benefits, Goodwill Industries of Southeast Louisiana is stepping up to support local food banks. At the Tulane Avenue Goodwill store, merchandise is abundant, but the organization is focusing on helping those who rely on food assistance programs. “Recognizing that there’s strain and recognizing a lot of our participants that come through our program and a lot of our customers at Goodwill depend on Second Harvest and other food banks, we’ve decided for this month, for the month of November, for the coming month, that all of our Keep the Change or Register Roundup will go to Second Harvest Food Bank,” said Scottie LeBlanc, vice president of Mission Services for Goodwill. Cashiers will ask customers if they want to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar, with proceeds going to the food bank. “So as you’re checking [...]
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.