Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington announced today that it raised more than $300,000 at its annual Impact for Good gala on Friday, fueling Goodwill’s tuition-free education and job-training programs that serve thousands of adults across King, Kitsap, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties.
The funds will help expand access to Goodwill’s tuition-free programs that connect people to education, skills, and career pathways that lead to economic stability for families, Evergreen Goodwill said in its news release.
Friday’s fundraising gala at the Seattle Convention Center Arch drew more than 250 business, civic, and community leaders. The evening featured a keynote from Mario Bailey, vice president of community engagement and legends for the Seattle Seahawks and a former University of Washington football player, plus stories from program participants whose lives have been transformed through Evergreen Goodwill’s education and career services.
Evergreen Goodwill is the largest provider of tuition-free adult education and job-placement services in Northwest Washington, according to the Seattle-based nonprofit. Over the past decade, more than 50,000 adults have turned to Goodwill to build new skills and open new doors. Programs include job-skills training, digital literacy, English-language learning, high-school completion, and career placement, designed to prepare students for the workforce and help them adapt as industries evolve.
While known to many for its retail stores, the organization’s broader mission is to combine innovation, scale, and compassion to create opportunity and ensure no one is left behind.
“Poverty isn’t just a lack of income — it’s a lack of access,” Evergreen Goodwill CEO Libby Johnson McKee said in the release, referring to access to education, stable work, child care, transportation, and technology “and to the confidence that comes from someone believing in you.” Goodwill’s programs are designed to remove those barriers together, she said, adding, “When an adult gains skills, earns a credential, and secures stable employment, it changes what’s possible — not just for that individual, but for their entire household and community.”