GREENSBORO - When people look inside a Goodwill store, most only see donated clothes and household items for sale but the organization represents much more.
"Our job at Goodwill Industries, which people don't know, is to help people get back to work," said Vice President of Marketing and Development Chris Gorham.
Eighty-five cents of every dollar spent in a Goodwill store helps support that mission.
"Essentially, our job is to provide help with job searching, job counseling, and job training," said Gorham.
A job it's doing well enough to earn a coveted accreditation.
"The CARF accreditation is the highest accreditation any nonprofit can get,” said Gorham. “Every three years, a third party comes in to evaluate just how effective of a job we do at helping people with barriers to employment."
It's like the non-profit equivalent of a Better Business Bureau accreditation for a business.
"People that donate to goodwill, shop at goodwill and that advocate for goodwill know that we are a good nonprofit and we are actually doing our mission work," said Gorham.
The organization's success shows not just in the accreditation, but in the numbers.
Goodwill Industries of Central North Carolina reports it added $51.5 million of earning potential to the local economy for the 2013-2014 fiscal year by helping nearly 20,000 people re-enter the workforce through services like resume workshops, career counseling, and networking events.
"It's our job to evaluate them and provide them the tools so they can become a self-sufficient member of society."
For more information on Goodwill's service, visit here.