Goodwill at Chapel Ridge

Specialties

Goodwill at Chapel Ridge is one of nine Goodwill stores in northeast Indiana overseen by Goodwill Industries of Northeast Indiana, Inc. The Goodwill stores are thrift stores selling high quality used merchandise including clothing, shoes, accessories, books, small electronics, housewares and furniture. The revenue from the sale of donated items supports Goodwill’s employment services. These services help people with disabilities and employment barriers find and keep jobs.

History

Established in 1936.

In 1902 Reverend Edgar J. Helms, a Boston minister, conceived the idea

of collecting unwanted household goods and employing jobless men and women to refurbish them. Income from the resold goods paid the worker’s wages. The system worked and Goodwill’s method of self-​help was born. Today Reverend Helm’s philosophy flourishes among more than 166 independent, community-​based Goodwill agencies in the United States and Canada, as well as 14 international affiliates in 13 other countries.

The Fort Wayne Goodwill can trace its roots back to 1936, when Reverend Helms proposed a federation of Goodwill Industries across northern Indiana. The Methodist Church agreed to provide the services of Gerald L. Clore as the executive director of the developing operations in Gary, Hammond, South Bend and Fort Wayne. The Fort Wayne Goodwill was incorporated with the Indiana Secretary of State in 1937 and opened its doors on January 3, 1938 at 112 East Columbia Street.