1973 – Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA Area, Inc., founded
1979 – First West Virginia Goodwill store opens
1982 – Virginia Avenue location built
1991 – In February, Goodwill won the 1990 Milestone Award signifying that among 33 sheltered workshops in West Virginia, they placed the most clients in jobs. This was the fourth consecutive year Goodwill won this award. Additionally, the agency also received CARF accreditation – the only private rehabilitation facility in WV to do so.
1992– The Business Clerical Program started, boasting an 80 percent placement rate by 1993.
1994 – Two new training programs- janitorial training and paper shredding – were implemented to strengthen the on-the-job training component of the Work Adjustment Training programs. Contracts to clean area businesses were secured as well as shredding contracts with community partners.
1996 – Eastern Heights location was opened with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. The Business Clerical Program was revamped to include more than just clerical skills and renamed Business Employment Skills Training (BEST).
1997 – “The Works – Career Center,” a hard-hitting course in developing job-seeking skills, was established as part of the governmental initiative to put welfare recipients in the workplace. Tim Morris was hired as the first director of this program.
1998 – Goodwill joined Weight Watchers to promote “Suited for Success,” a program to provide low-cost professional-looking clothing to welfare-to-work candidates.
The agency cooperated in a Welfare-to-Work program sponsored by United Way. The six-week program pulled resources from various community agencies and individuals to teach skills in getting and keeping a job.
1999 – Goodwill’s first website was launched.
2000 – In June, Goodwill launched shopgoodwill.com, an auction website started by the Goodwill of Orange County, Calif. The online store allows unique items to gain a wider shopping clientele.
2001 – January 4 marked the opening of the first completely new Goodwill store and the first location in the Lavalette area. Family Service, a long time Tri-State area community agency that provided counseling services, became a part of Goodwill. Due to demand from the residential health care community, Goodwill launched a ten week Residential Worker Training Program in August.
2004 – In response to the increased retail traffic and residential growth in the Barboursville area, Goodwill merged the Eastern Heights and Barboursville stores into one larger location, which opened in January 2004.
2005 – On August 1, the agency began offering four career tracks in the newly configured Goodwill Career Center. Students could earn certifications in Business Employment Skills (BEST), Retail Employment Skills (REST) , Medical Office Skills (MOST) and Hospitality Skills (HOST). August 31 marked the grand opening of a new 4,000-sq.-ft. store in Williamson, WV.
2006 – In July, a new 3,800-sq.-ft. store in Pikeville, KY, opened at Weddington Square, bringing the total number of retail outlets to eight.
2013 – New CEO Alissa Stewart joins. She came to Goodwill from Southwestern Community Action Council, Inc., where she worked to aid in empowering challenged individuals and families in making positive life changes that engender growth and self-sufficiency.
2014 – Grand opening of new store in Ceredo, WV.
Launch of Hire Attire, a program for men that offers professional attire and career development tools to allow them to achieve independence for themselves and their families.
2015 – Grand opening of new Ninth Ave. store location in Huntington, WV in February. Grand opening of new Inez, KY store in August. In November, the Ceredo, WV store was re-located to Catlettsburg, KY. West Hamlin, WV store opens in December. In December, shopgoodwill.com/goodwillkyowva launches, where the world is now our market. The website was completely re-done and updated with all new information.
2016 – In March, the Louisa, KY store was re-located to a new location, located at 102 Blairs Way. The E-commerce division was re-located from the Virginia Avenue warehouse to their own building in July. The new location is located at 1504 Madison Avenue in West Huntington. In August, the West Hamlin store closed.
2017 – In January, Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA Area, Inc. and Goodwill Industries of Kentucky, Inc. swapped Goodwill territories. Goodwill of KYOWVA swapped Pike County, KY for Carter County, KY. The Pikeville, KY store is no longer under the management of Goodwill of KYOWVA. E-commerce expanded their online sales and started using EBAY.
In March, Goodwill of KYOWVA opened a new store in Huntington, WV, located at 3000 Parkway Drive on US Route 60. The store has a Pinterest/DIY look and feel. In June, Goodwill of KYOWVA opened a new store in Grayson, KY, located at 131 South Carol Malone Blvd.
On November 3, the Inez, KY Goodwill store closed its doors. In the following month, on December 29, the Williamson, WV closed its doors as well.