The Friends of JCDS salutes The Helping Hand of Goodwill Industries

Throughout the years, The Helping Hand of Goodwill Industries has “joined hands” with Johnson County Developmental Supports to provide employment opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities.

The partnership continues to flourish in new ways!

The Helping Hand of Goodwill Industries recently teamed up with the Friends of JCDS for the Restyle Runway fashion show held April 30th at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO. Tom Dooley, Goodwill Industries’ Vice President of Retail Operations and Contacts, Eastern Kansas/Western Missouri Region, joined the Restyle Runway committee and enlisted the support of area Goodwill stores in the effort. Thanks to his encouragement, 17 area Goodwill stores donated clothing to the 16 design students who participated in the Restyle Runway competition. The students were given the challenge of creating collections assembled exclusively from clothing sourced from Goodwill. An important aspect of the challenge was to demonstrate how recycled threads can be made fabulous with a little reworking and a lot of creativity.

“The commonalities of mission between The Helping Hand of Goodwill Industries and JCDS made the Restyle Runway partnership a natural fit,” Tom said. “Reusing materials is what we do every single day, and we were thrilled to be able to donate clothes for the fashion show.”

The Helping Hand of Goodwill Industries not only provided clothing for the designers, they also donated eco-friendly “swag bags” for the audience who attended the event!

The Helping Hand of Goodwill Industries currently employs 12 JCDS work program participants and plans to add another 6 when a new location opens in a few months!

Through the Restyle Runway fundraising event, Friends of JCDS and Goodwill Industries have demonstrated the power of teamwork. They’ve shown that great charitable purposes can be achieved when two distinct organizations with aligned missions come together to benefit people with developmental disabilities.

Friends of JCDS thanks The Helping Hand of Goodwill Industries for their generous support. We look forward to working with this great organization in the fashionable future!