Goodwill and Uber Team Up for Mobile Donation Campaign

FORT MYERS, Fla. - April 30, 2015 - PRLog -- For one day this spring, donating clothes will be even easier thanks to an innovative partnership between Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida  and the popular on-demand transportation platform, Uber. On Saturday, May 2, donors can open the Uber app and request a pickup for their donations to be delivered by an Uber directly to their local Goodwill, free of charge.

Building on the success of previous promotions in the New York, Boston and San Francisco areas, this is the first time Goodwill SWFL and Uber have partnered to combine the power of donating with the convenience of ordering a ride via a mobile device. The partnership is available in more than 50 cities across the United States and Sao Paulo, Brazil where both Uber and Goodwill operate.

Here’s how it works:

On Saturday, May 2, Southwest Florida donors will open the Uber app from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and be able to select the GIVE option on the bottom of the screen.
An Uber SUV will arrive to pick up clothing bags, and the driver will drop off the donations to Goodwill.

The details:

All clothing must be bagged for drivers to accept donations.
The GIVE option will only be available for pickups between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Drivers will arrive at requested pickup locations. Donors are responsible for bringing bags outside, as drivers cannot leave their vehicles unattended.
For those who have already completed their spring cleaning and donations, or live in areas where Uber isn’t available, monetary donations can be made to Goodwill at http://give.goodwill.org

With Goodwill and Uber coming directly to donors, it’s the perfect opportunity for people to clean out their closets and give as much as they can, while ensuring that their clothing can be reused and contributing to a good cause. Goodwill will use the revenue from the donations sold in its retail stores to help fund job placement and training programs in the communities where the goods are donated. In 2014, Goodwill provided needed services to nearly 40,000 Southwest Floridians.

“This innovative and exciting partnership demonstrates Uber’s commitment to local communities on a national and international scale,” says Buffy Hagood, Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida’s commercial donations coordinator. “This collaboration makes spring cleaning and donating easy. Items will not only be diverted from landfills, but those donations will go toward supporting efforts to help people with disabilities and disadvantages right here in Southwest Florida.”

“Both Uber and Goodwill strive to make a meaningful impact on local communities, and we are thrilled to once again team up with Goodwill to make donating fast and easy for Uber users,” said David Plouffe, Senior Vice President of Policy and Strategy at Uber. “Those who participate in this campaign are not only checking something off their to-do list, but supporting Goodwill and its mission to strengthen communities by providing job placement and training for people in need."

For a list of cities participating in the Goodwill and Uber spring cleaning partnership, visit blog.uber.com/springcleaning2015.

About Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, Inc.

Goodwill serves people with disabilities and disadvantages in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties by offering life changing opportunities to achieve independence. Goodwill’s programs in our area include Job-Link centers, community outreach, disability-accessible housing, mentoring, small business education, and the Goodwill L.I.F.E. Academy charter school for students with intellectual disabilities. In 2014, Goodwill helped nearly 40,000 people in Southwest Florida to become more independent.

About Uber

Uber is a technology platform that is evolving the way the world moves. By seamlessly connecting riders to drivers through our apps, we make cities more accessible, opening up more possibilities for riders and more business for drivers. From our founding in 2009 to our launches in over 300 cities today, Uber's rapidly expanding global presence continues to bring people and their cities closer. Follow us on Twitter: @Uber and find us on Facebook: Uber.