Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina wrapped up their 13^th Annual Golden Angel Tree Program with the distribution of holiday gift bags to 1,000 disadvantaged seniors in and around the Lowcountry.

Thanks to the overwhelming support of the community, Goodwill was able to significantly increase the number of seniors that benefitted from its Golden Angel program this holiday season by a total of 402 seniors.

“With so many wonderful programs dedicated to the children in our community, we made the decision several years ago to shift our focus to another group in need that is often overlooked, our disadvantaged seniors,” said Goodwill Vice President of Corporate Relations Tina Marshall. “Seniors face many challenges on a fixed income with the rising cost of prescriptions and health care, finding affordable housing and overall inflation. We wanted to make sure the seniors of our community are also cared for during the holidays.”

For several weeks, Goodwill and local volunteers shopped for items and created 1,000 holiday gift bags full of items to meet the wishes and needs of seniors. The holiday gift bags included items such as blankets, socks, towels and wash clothes, winter clothing, toiletries, food items and other gifts to provide holiday cheer to the recipients.

Gift bags were distributed to disadvantaged seniors in the Tri-County, Beaufort, Bluffton, Walterboro, Sumter, Florence and Myrtle Beach communities where Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina operates retail stores and Job Link Centers.

“This is a wonderful tradition that our seniors look forward to every year,” said Yvonne Cooper, Case Manager for the Charleston Area Seniors Citizens Services, Inc., where Goodwill puts on an annual Christmas party to distribute gift bags and other gifts to seniors in the Charleston area.  “Senior citizens have spent so much of their life giving to the community; it is nice for them to know that the community remembers, cares and wants to give back to them.”

Goodwill not only credits the contributions from individuals and families for the success of this year’s program but also recognizes and gives special thanks to FOX 24, Bojangles and Toyota of North Charleston for their support of this year’s Golden Angel Tree program.

 The Golden Angel Tree Program is funded through community donations and the sale of “Golden Angels” at each of the Goodwill stores. Customers can purchase the angels during the holidays for a $1 donation. All sales go directly to the program.

Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina is a nonprofit social service organization whose mission is to help people achieve their full potential through the dignity and power of work. Over 90 percent of Goodwill’s revenue goes to fund mission related services. Goodwill serves their mission by providing career counseling, job training, and other employment related programs to people who have barriers to employment. Last year, Goodwill was able to place over 550 people into new jobs and served over 28,000 in South Carolina. For more information about Goodwill’s programs and services, please visit www.palmettogoodwill.org.

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