Reverend J. Edgar Helms began what would become Goodwill Industries in Boston, in 1902. His idea was to employ people who needed jobs to repair discarded clothes and household items. The sale of the items provided wages for the workers.

From this idea, Helms hoped to meet the serious social problems of his day. His goal was to establish a unique institution that would give men and women with disabilities "not charity, but a chance." From this single principle Goodwill grew into the international organization it is today, lending a guiding hand to millions of men, women and children struggling to reach their full potential.