Blog
Give the gift of light this festive season
28th November 2021
For most of us December is a time of year for fun, festivities and celebrations. A joyous time of year to spend with family and loved ones, but this isn’t the same for everyone. It can be easy to forget that not everyone experiences this time of year in the same way we do. This year, whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah or Kwanzaa we’re asking you to help us bring light to those in need and struggling.
Exciting new collaboration brings opportunity for growth
24th November 2021
Earlier this month we visited children's charity Little Village to welcome them to Watford and find out how we could support them. There was so much synergy during our visit that a wonderful collaboration was borne.
Delivering shoes to little feet in need
24th November 2021
Having footwear that fits is something most of us take for granted. But for many of the people we support they are often a luxury they can't afford. That's why we work with organisations like Sal's Shoes to ensure vital footwear gets to little feet in need.
Introducing James our new Facility and Volunteer Coordinator
24th November 2021
At the beginning of November we welcomed James Silverman onto the team. James replaces David as our Facility and Volunteer Coordinator and comes with a background in sustainability and youth work.
Donate a new toy to a child in hospital
15th November 2021
We've teamed up with Camp Simcha to bring toys to children in hospital this holiday season. Will you support us and do something super for a child in need?
How you will benefit from volunteering with us
4th November 2021
There are a number of ways you will benefit from volunteering with Goods For Good, and what better way to share them with you is to let two of our volunteers, Arpit and David, tell you a little bit about why they volunteer with us.
We've redefined our volunteering offer
1st November 2021
Following feedback from our recent Volunteer Survey, we have worked hard to understand the experiences of our volunteers, both past and present. As a result we've redefined our volunteering offer, including the exciting development of our remote and online opportunities. Find out more about the roles we have available and the variety of ways you can support us.
1,000 tonnes of goods saved from landfill or incineration
28th October 2021
To date we have saved over 1,000 tonnes of goods from landfill or incineration and we’ve done this by creating a compassionate community that looks out for each other. We love working with corporates who don’t just understand our vision and values but share them too. Our relationship with UNIQLO is a flagship model of a company taking total responsibility of their overstocks. Committed to creating responsible clothing, and in the last 3 years they've supported us to deliver 184 tonnes of new and pre-loved garments to vulnerable communities in need.
Sport For Good receives Sport England funding
7th October 2021
With support from Herts Sport Partnership we have secured funding from Sport England's Tackling Inequalities Fund. Thanks to this funding we are delighted to welcome Andrew Anastasiou to the team as Programme Manager for our Sport For Good initiative.
Share a little warmth this winter
30th September 2021
Every year millions of people around the world fight for survival during the winter months. We are currently preparing winter packs to distribute to the communities we support in the UK and overseas. By donating to our Winter Appeal, you can provide a lifeline to the families we support.
Afghan Refugee Appeal
24th August 2021
We’ve had an overwhelming response from our community, keen to find out how they can help us respond to and support the Afghan refugees as they arrive in the UK, so we have provided details of the different ways you can help support our work.
Haiti Earthquake Response
19th August 2021
Working with our partner Sal's Shoes we have donated over 8,000 pairs of shoes for the children affected by the earthquake on Saturday 14 August. By donating to our emergency fund today you can help us respond to SOS Appeals such as the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Goods For Good celebrates it's 7th birthday
18th August 2021
On Tuesday 17th August we were finally able to open our doors and welcome friends, family, supporters, partners, donors and volunteers to help us celebrate the charity's 7th birthday.
£26million worth of humanitarian aid delivered in 7 years
4th August 2021
For 7 years Goods For Good has been delivering essentials, dignity and hope to the most vulnerable in need. As we celebrate our 7th birthday we have delivered over £26 million-worth of humanitarian aid to over 3 million vulnerable people in need, globally.
The Big Heart Edit Raises £25,000
26th July 2021
Over the last 6 months the team at The Big Heart Edit, which consists of seven passionate and talented women, have curated an eight-part auction series on Instagram with 100% of. the proceeds from each auction going to Goods For Good. Since February. we've worked alongside some incredible curators and over 100 remarkable brands. Each auction has been thoughtfully and lovingly curated and as a result the team have raised a phenomenal £25,000 for Goods for Good.
The people we support are at the heart of everything we do
16th June 2021
It took four years for Ramzi to reach safety in the UK. After fleeing Sudan with his brother he was imprisoned and tortured before being traded and enslaved in Libya. We came to know Ramzi through our Sport For Good initiative. Read his heart-wrenching story.
Mobilising a movement of community power
14th June 2021
To date we've delivered essentials to over 3 million vulnerable people globally. But we want to do more and reach more people. We want to connect and work with like-minded people and organisations who want to drive sustainable change, and who recognise that they can help those less fortunate than themselves. We want to mobilise a movement of community power.
SOS Appeal - Fire destroys Iraqi refugee camp
7th June 2021
Following the devastating fire that swept through a refugee camp in Northern Iraq on Friday, we need help to send essential aid to to the thousands of families affected.
National Volunteering Week 2021
7th June 2021
National Volunteering Week is a week in which we celebrate volunteers and say thank you to them for the contribution they make. In this short blog David talks about how he came to volunteer with Goods For Good and why, for him, it's been a life-changing experience.
Nominate us for this year's Movement For Good Awards
7th June 2021
Now in its third year the Ecclesiastical Insurance Group are giving £1 million to charities through their Movement for Good awards. Nominate us by Sunday 13th June to help us win these vital funds.
Volunteers needed
3rd June 2021
If you would like to get involved with our work and help us grow, we're currently looking for volunteer drivers, pickers and packers and community champions.
Female-led auction aims to raise £20,000
25th May 2021
The Instagram-based auctioneer The Big Heart Edit aims to raise £20,000 for Goods For Good. This philanthropic venture seeks to encourage shopping with purpose. To date the project has hosted five auctions and worked with over 70 brands raising a phenomenal £14,512 for Goods For Good.
Giving made easy
20th May 2021
We've teamed up with For Common Good. This exciting partnership provides us with the opportunity to help more people access the everyday essentials they aren’t able to purchase themselves.
An interview with our newest team member
17th May 2021
Last week we welcomed Nye onto the team. Nye joined us as an Admin Assistant as part of the government's Kickstart Scheme. In this short interview he tells us about what interested him in the role and what he hopes to achieve over the next six months with us.
Kickstart your career in marketing and communications
29th April 2021
This is a brilliant opportunity for someone looking to start their career in Social Media and Digital Marketing. Funded by the government's Kickstart Scheme it is only open to candidates aged 16-24 who are eligible.
Sport For Good
15th April 2021
It can be hard to understand how much value something as simple as a pair of trainers can have, when clothing and footwear are basics we take for granted. But for many of the people we've helped support, they've provided purpose, hope and healing. That's why we've launched our Sports For Good initiative.
Together we've raised £33,000
25th March 2021
With Covid-19 restrictions in place it hasn’t been possible for us to fundraise in the way we would normally, so following the success of our event in December we hosted another online fundraiser Sunday 21st March. Between the two events we raised £33,000!
IWD 2021 Interview with Rosalind Bluestone
8th March 2021
We talk to our CEO, Rosalind Bluestone about what prompted her to set up the charity 6.5 years ago, what International Women’s Day means to her and why it’s so important for women to stand united and to lift each other up.
JVN Volunteer Awards 2020
3rd March 2021
Every year JVN celebrates volunteers and the amazing work they do presenting several awards to some of the community’s most outstanding volunteers. We're over the moon to have been nominated for three of this year's four categories.
Prams for Good
1st March 2021
We are delighted to announce our latest initiative - Prams for Good. A collaborative initiative with the aim of matching families in need with pre-loved prams and pushchairs to enable them to get out and about with their babies and children.
When the Green Economy becomes the Kindness Economy
24th February 2021
Kindness is a word rarely associated with business but one that is fundamental to the future success of business. Whether it’s providing clothing and essentials to a mum who has fled with her children from an abusive relationship or providing footwear to someone who is homeless and has never owned a new pair of shoes, Goods for Good delivers hope as well as essentials to those that we help. And we believe it’s the simple act of kindness that gives hope.
Join us for our Spring Quiz Extravaganza!
11th February 2021
Join us on Sunday 21st March for our BIG NIGHT IN SPRING QUIZ EXTRAVAGANZA! Back by popular demand we're excited to announce we'll be hosting our next event on Sunday 21st March. With entertainment Nick Einhorn and Fil Straughn, you're in for an evening of entertainment, magic and soul.
Bid For Good
8th February 2021
We are hugely excited to announce our partnership with The Big Heart Edit - an Instagram-based auctioneer of unique items with giving at its core. Their aim is to raise money for charities that support vulnerable communities in the UK and abroad.
Delivering hope to those in need
2nd February 2021
We heard Yvonne was living on the edge for a long time. Anxious, with mental health issues, she was terrified to leave the house because of her fear of catching the virus and also petrified to stay at home with her aggressive husband. Finally, last week, she couldn’t take it any longer and made that final difficult decision to leave and seek refuge.
Appeal For Nappies
14th January 2021
Millions of parents cannot afford to buy nappies, and in light of the recent lockdown there is also the added challenge with parents unable to find the right size nappies they need for their children. We need your help to be able to respond to the increasing requests from the community for nappies and baby wipes.
A day in the life....
4th October 2020
We believe that everyone has a right to dignity and hope. We act with constant compassion to ensure those in urgent need, wherever they may be, receive life-changing goods that help restore dignity and hope.
Beirut Appeal - We are Sending Urgent Medical Aid!
14th August 2020
Following the shocking explosion last week in Beirut, Lebanon, Goods For Good have been working to help support our partners on the ground deliver urgent medical aid. We need your help to make this happen and support these vulnerable people who have lost everything in a second.
Supporting the Royal Free Hospital - Free Supermarket
12th May 2020
We have been supplying goods to the Royal Free Hospital [Free] Supermarket. A fitness club for staff at the Hospital was transformed into a ‘supermarket’ distributing vital essentials to frontline workers free of charge. We received a wonderful letter of thanks from Clara Bispham, fundraiser for the Royal Free Hospital.
International Women's Day #empoweringwomen
23rd March 2020
As part of International Women's Day we shared a series of short stories on women who Goods For Good has supported. During our 5 years operating we have worked to provide dignity and hope for women across the globe. Read all the stories here.
Christmas & Chanukah magic – we deliver, because every child deserves a gift
17th December 2019
Read how at how Goods For Good this Christmas and Chanukah we are taking a moment to reflect on the those who will not receive presents or be with their family. We want to help those people receive goods throughout the year, not just for one day.
SEPTEMBER VISIT TO MOLDOVA – Delivering Dignity & Hope
26th September 2019
In September Rosalind went to Moldova to visit projects we support in the country. She visited numerous projects and families who are supported by Goods For Goods and also distributed goods whilst on the trip.
Introducing Stephanie, our new Operations Coordinator
14th August 2019
Introducing our new Operations Coordinator, Stephanie Rukin. Read more about her background, experience in Uganda, and what she hopes to bring to her new role.
Rosalind's trip to the Refugee Camps in Greece
4th February 2019
I travelled with Esther Veenstra, from our charity partner HRIF in Holland, to visit two charities we are working with in Greece. We went on a fact-finding trip to see both the need; and how our forty-foot truck of winter relief supplies, which we had sent over just before Christmas, had been distributed around eight refugee camps.
Privacy Policy Statement - General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
15th May 2018
Goods for Good has been working towards being fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and as we approach the 25th May deadline, GOODS FOR GOOD is focused on the implementation period of its GDPR compliance programme.
1337 little packs of dignity
10th April 2018
Our aim is to send a truck full of sanitary products to help restore a little dignity to women in need, but we can’t do this without your help.
Alena’s Story
28th February 2018
Alena was a well-to-do, middle class woman from Donetsk in Eastern Ukraine. Single, with a good job and a lovely home, she wanted to share her life and decided to adopt. War in the region changed life and her future forever, but she is grateful for the support from Goods for Good.
Tony still has lots of good to give
26th February 2018
Tony Kerstein, a young at heart 75-year-old volunteer at Goods for Good, tells us about the charity work that keeps him active and happy.
Marvellous multiplier effect of a £10 donation
8th December 2017
Goods For Got have just hit the £10million milestone of goods delivered. Here is how a £10 donation from you can help us reach our next million through the marvelous multiplier effect of your donation.
Expedition for Good – A solo ascent to the roof of Europe
20th October 2017
Expedition for Good – A solo ascent to the roof of Europe How I planned and prepared for my expedition to climb Mont Blanc solo.
My Summer with Goods for Good
20th October 2017
Cambridge graduate Mai Hamburger takes us behind the scenes of Goods for Good charity after her summer with them providing much-needed support.
What would you do if you lost everything?
6th September 2017
It is 2017 and the world is facing the worst humanitarian crisis since 1945 – UN Official Take just 8 minutes to watch the video and see the people who had to make those decisions and are having to rebuild their lives, or simply starting out as children, with dreams of going home that are now impossible, or have ambitions to become a doctor to help others.
Its Christmas & Hanukah; so let’s create a new miracle today!
17th December 2016
At the end of the year GOODS FOR GOOD GLOBAL can reflect on a very successful 2nd year. With the help of our UK corporate donors of goods; with the help of your donations; with the help of our charity partners and dedicated volunteers and school children; we have managed to export a record volume of humanitarian aid. Essential clothing, shoes, wellington boots, duvets, and hygiene goods. Since we set up GOODS FOR GOOD, we have sent almost £7m-worth of vital goods to our charity partners overseas.
HELPING THE REFUGEES WHO HAVE ESCAPED FROM ISIS
30th November 2016
I have just returned from ten days visiting the camps outside Erbil, fifty miles from Mosul, in Kurdistan. I left high school in London this summer, and wanted to do something to help. It’s difficult to express the emotions I felt as I went into the camps; I knew that the conditions in the camps were bad, but what I saw was unimaginable and inhumane.
A letter from Viroelia; Kishinev, Moldova
31st October 2016
Dearest Rosalind, I would like to once again thank you for renewing the humanitarian aid program for Moldova and giving back hope to so many! That means that multiple families and elderly will have a chance of receiving necessary goods and clothing, and they will be able to use the saved money for extra medicine or groceries.
GOODS FOR GOOD & the BACK-TO SCHOOL Crayon challenge
4th September 2016
We are going viral to deliver crayons, felt-tips, pencils and colouring books to refugee children in Northern Iraq & Syria.
“Thank you” from the children, who are far away from home….
5th July 2016
When I received this picture, I was stunned and moved to see the little boy who is the absolute image of my son Danny. The cheeky smile and the fact he is holding the sign upside down, reminds me of him, at the age of nine, and the hilarious antics he used to get up to... It struck a chord and made me think of how very lucky we are: our children; grandchildren and dear ones are safe and sound here in the UK.
Summa a mother of six, in a refugee camp in Duhok says “Goods for Good has given us hope for surviving this nightmare.”
1st June 2016
At GOODS FOR GOOD (GLOBAL) we are celebrating the fact that we have exported over £4m-worth of humanitarian aid since we started in July 2014 and given hope and dignity to so many. We feel that’s worth shouting about!
We undertake the task of delivering those goods by perilous roads to deliver to the families who have nothing left
20th April 2016
When it comes to celebrating, I am the first one to arrive to the party. So I want to invite you to a ‘virtual party’ as we are proudly celebrating one year of starting up our community social action programme. The GOODS FOR GOOD volunteering programme started at Unit 1, Borehamwood Enterprise Centre on 5th May 2015, when I received the key of the warehouse door.
They need your help YESTERDAY please… because tomorrow may be too late!
1st March 2016
With pictures like this one arriving in my email box from charity partners in Syria, the Monastery of Saint James in Qara - I know that I must appeal to you for your urgent help. This Antiochian orthodox church is leading a coalition of different churches like Baptists, Evangelicals, Protestant, Syrian Orthodox helping tragic victims of war, no matter what religion they are. The devastation and ruin all over country means that thousands of people are living on the streets in the most tragic, unimaginable and appalling circumstances.
The communities we support in Ukraine & Moldova are still very much on our minds.
17th January 2016
My wonderful late mother, Ray Burns, had lots of wise sayings. ‘Out of sight, out of mind,’ was one of the them. I’m not sure where she got them all from; but believe me; she had one for every occasion!
Whether Christmas or Chanukah, or any day of the week, we love to give…
15th December 2015
Recently, members of the inter-faith group Unity joined our group of dedicated volunteers. Jewish and Muslim women and families collaborating; collecting and packing humanitarian aid for refugees in Northern Iraq and Syria. Knitters from Knit for Peace are sending us amazing garments from all around the globe; knitted with love and care.
My family were refugees
14th October 2015
As a child, I heard the story that my grandparents had escaped the Pogroms in Ukraine in 1906, that they boarded a ship in Odessa and came to the UK as refugees.
Its heart warming. Be part of the journey.
1st September 2015
We are delivering goods and hope to those who feel forgotten. Our volunteers are knitting blankets and sorting out the goods they no longer wear.
We need the coat off your back
18th August 2015
A close colleague David from Poland, representing charity donors, visited for one week to help with the distribution of humanitarian aid collected by us and other EU donor companies In Kurdistan.
These children all have names
3rd July 2015
A close colleague David from Poland, representing charity donors, visited for one week to help with the distribution of humanitarian aid collected by us and other EU donor companies In Kurdistan.
We just can’t stop it…
12th June 2015
With 12 years’ experience in shipping humanitarian aid from the UK to impoverished communities around the world, it’s difficult to stop. So when the UK charity I worked for closed down the Gifts-in-Kind programme I managed, I decided to continue.
We’ve moved mountains…
20th May 2015
So we feel it’s a fabulous reason to celebrate! It’s less than a year since I registered GOODS FOR GOOD - and I’m just so delighted and proud at what’s been achieved.