The Bag It Up for Goodwill Challenge

February 2, 2021:
With great sadness, we must announce the further postponement of our Bag It Up for Goodwill Donation Challenge. We have explored many options to attempt to keep this special event running for 2021. With the global situation continuing to change day-to-day, we feel it best to look forward to 2022 with an even bigger and better event. We wish all school students, administration, and their families the best during this evolving health crisis.

 

 

 

 

Start Donating on April 1st, 2020

to help your school win. All elementary schools in Goodwill's service territory are invited to participate. The school with the most items donated for the month wins the grand prize. Only donations made April 1, 2020 - April 30, 2020, count. See complete rules in FAQ's. Goodwill reserves the right to change or alter this program at any time.

Getting involved is EASY!

1. Register your school. Be sure to check your schools eligibility by making sure it falls within Goodwill's service territory here. Register Your School

2. Rally your school community. The more people involved, the better your school will do.

3. Find your nearest participating Goodwill location here.

4. Donate your items during the entire month of April.

5. Tell the Goodwill donation attendant you are donating for the challenge and complete the donation slip with your school name.

Grammy nominated and multi-platinum recording artist Gavin DeGraw performed for 2019 Bag It Up Winner - Noah Wallace Elementary in Farmington, CT.

Promotional Materials

Be sure to check in March for updated content with the artist name.

Parent Letter Template: Customize to communicate to parents.

Flyer: Post at school, include in a newsletter or use on social media.
Tip Sheet: Learn tactics other schools used to win.
Informational Flyer: Use in school newsletter, emails or FaceBook page.
Donation Slip: Print and send home with students.
School FaceBook & Instagram Image: Post on social media channels to get the greater community involved


FAQs

What impact does the challenge have on our communities?
In 2019, over 6,700 people joined the challenge and donated during the month of April to support their local elementary schools. Approximately 261,223 thousand pounds of clothing and household items were donated and kept out of Connecticut landfills. That's enough to fill 5 school buses! Goodwill was able to turn these donations into enough revenue to help 2,073 people with their job search needs and of those successfully helped 726 attain competitive employment to support themselves and their families.

Can my school participate?

Your school must be an elementary school AND fall within Goodwill's service territory. View the list of towns we serve here.

How are my school's donations counted?
When you make a donation at a participating donation location, tell the attendant you are making it on behalf of your school. You will be provided a donation slip to write your school name, city and indicate how many ITEMS you are donating. Get a head start. Print the form here and fill it out prior to making your donation.

What is the prize?
The school with the most items donated will receive a private performance by a mystery recording artist, $1,000, and NoRA's cupcakes for the entire school. Second place receives $500 and third place receives $250.

Can we collect donations at my school?
Yes, you can. However, the items will need to be brought to a participating donation location, and a slip filled out for the donation to count. Goodwill cannot offer pickups of donations.

Where are your donation locations?
A complete list of Goodwill's donation locations can be found here.

What can we donate?
A complete list of items that can/cannot be accepted can be found here.

What are the rules for the challenge?
The Bag It Up for Goodwill Donation Challenge runs from 4/1 – 4/30. The challenge is open to elementary schools only and schools must be located inside Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut (GWNCT) territory. Donations must be made at a participating GWNCT location. An event donation slip must be filled out and passed to the donation attendant at the time of donation. Donations without an accompanying slip cannot be counted in the challenge. Likewise, donation slips given after a donation cannot be counted. At the discretion of the attendant/manager, Goodwill reserves the right to verify and adjust numbers on the slip to ensure the most accurate counts. Throughout April, Goodwill will provide school standings, updates and winners exclusively on our Facebook event page. Winning schools will be announced on Friday, May 8th. If the winning school cannot accommodate the entirety of the grand prize, it relinquishes eligibility to accept and the next school in line will be offered the opportunity to accept. The private performance date will fall between May 15 - June 7, this is dictated by the artist and is non-negotiable, and the event must take place at the winning school. During the event, cupcakes will be provided by NoRA’s Cupcake Company. Allergies cannot be accommodated for, and alternative treats are the sole responsibility of the school. Winning event will be filmed and photographed for promotional use. All approval/refusal for students and faculty to be captured on film or in photos is the sole responsibility of the school. The school must provide a separate area for students whose parents do not want their likeness captured in video or photographs. All monetary prizes are awarded in the form of AMEX gift cards. Gift cards will be mailed via FedEx and require signature by June 1 for second and third place prizes. Gift card for winning school will be delivered at the time of grand prize event. Goodwill reserves the right to change or alter this challenge.

Other questions? Contact our coordinator Jeremy at 203-581-5051 or email jmooser@gwct.org.


Goodwill is not responsible for any slips that are not received, are lost, or illegible. Management reserves the right to verify the number of items indicated by the donor on the submitted donation slip to ensure accurate counts for this challenge.