100 years of working wonders.
We’re thrilled to celebrate our 100th birthday this year, inviting the whole Orange County community to participate in the celebration.
For a century, Goodwill OC has created opportunity within our community. See all we’ve accomplished together over the past 100 years and join us to create a future of impact.
A century of good.
Since day one, we’ve supported the career journeys of local residents and strengthened the vibrant workforce in OC—helping them find and keep jobs, providing training and career coaching, supporting them onsite, and even driving them to and from work.
1924
- Rev. John Winterbourne founds Goodwill Industries of Orange County.
- At inception, the Goodwill model focuses on repairing damaged goods for resale, hiring individuals with disabilities to do this work. The first Goodwill clothing repair workshop is located in Winterbourne’s personal home but later moves to a rented house on Logan Street in Santa Ana.
1928
- Goodwill operates four stores in Orange County – the first in Santa Ana on the corner of West Fourth and Van Ness, as well as in Anaheim, Huntington Beach, and Stanton.
With vital support from our committed partners.
Making the future even brighter
Double the footprint, double the impact.
As the most comprehensive workforce development program in OC, we’re honored to play an integral role in uplifting our community. But we’re not done yet.
In our 99th year, we set forth the bold goal to double Goodwill OC’s impact over the next ten years. We’re doing that in part by doubling our retail footprint, which generates more funds through sales and helps to double the number of jobs and hands-on-training opportunities for our community.
Store Manager
Donation Attendant
Associate at Smart & Final
Retail Associate
Senior Store Manager
Retail Associate
E-Commerce Specialist
E-Commerce Clerk
OUR VISION
We envision a caring and connected community where everyone has access to meaningful career opportunities.
career journeys
Setting the foundation for a transformational career.
We think long-term about success, helping participants match their passions with the right career path and local business.
Career Pathways is not a one-size-fits-all program. We work with each participant to provide holistic personalized career guidance, plans, and support based on their unique goals, abilities, and needs. They may come for a job, but we aim for them to stay or leave with a career.
CAREER PATHWAYS Success stories
Jessica Jimenez
Meet Jessica Jimenez, a processor associate at our Distribution Warehouse since 2016. Jessica enrolled in the Career Pathways Program to obtain her GED and advance her career within the organization. She needed guidance and support services to balance work and home life. As a single mother, Jessica struggled to make ends meet with rising childcare costs. Full of self-doubt, she took the opportunity to make a change.
Jessica’s Career Navigator assessed her needs and guided her in creating an individualized educational training plan, equipping Jessica with resources to address the roadblocks in her career path along with career fundamentals, soft skill training, and support. The leadership training from her Career Navigator helped her become a model employee within her department, earning her a promotion to Store Lead.
Her promotion provided economic mobility and allowed her to spend more time with her family. Jessica now studies for her GED in the evenings and sometimes during her lunch. Career Pathways empowered Jessica to continue her professional growth with renewed self-confidence.
Making the future even brighter
Share your Goodwill moments.
Celebrate this year with us.
Future is Working
Golf Classic
Centennial Gala
Help double our impact.
Provide meaningful opportunities for our community and transform lives in OC for the next 100 years.
Reagan visits the Goodwill Rehabilitation Center (1970)
Then Governor Reagan congratulates Wade Herrin, Vice Mayor of Santa Ana, on the Goodwill Rehabilitation Center—just one of our accomplishments from the past century.
