At Goodwill, we believe in giving a hand up, not a handout — a saying coined by Goodwill’s founder, the Rev. Edgar J. Helms. In the early 1900s, Helms performed missionary work in the slums of Boston. He hired the poor and needy to mend and repair used goods that he collected from wealthy Bostonians. The refurbished items were resold and given to the people who did the repair work, the basis for the mission of Goodwills throughout the U.S. and abroad.