SEATTLE—Last week Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab announced that Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington was selected as a recipient for a grant that will revolutionize Goodwill’s operations and unlock new possibilities for sustainability and community impact.
For more than a century, Evergreen Goodwill has provided free job training and education programs for people across northwest Washington, funded from the sale of donated items in their thrift stores and online. Each year, Evergreen Goodwill manually processes more than 45 million items — an effort that has relied entirely on human judgment. With support from Microsoft that is about to change.
“We are excited to work with the technology leaders at Microsoft who share our values and want to be part of evolving both our business and our workforce development programs with the power of AI,” said Libby Johnson McKee, President & CEO of Evergreen Goodwill.
How Goodwill will Use AI
With guidance from Microsoft advisors, Evergreen Goodwill will leverage artificial intelligence to process donations. The proposed solution will apply a human-in-the-loop (HITL) approach to enable employees make smarter, faster data-driven decisions: Should an article go on the sales floor or online? How should it be priced? And what should happen to an unsellable piece – can it be recycled or repurposed?
“This is not just about modernizing our operations, it’s about supercharging our impact – keeping more items out of landfills and providing more people in our communities with the training and education to thrive in today’s workforce,” said Johnson Mckee. “We are excited to empower our people to concentrate on the higher-value tasks only humans can do: making confident decisions, with AI serving as a helpful tool.”
The adoption of AI at Evergreen Goodwill is not limited to the staff at their stores and donation centers. AI will take an increasingly prominent spot in their program curriculum to ensure community members have the digital skills to thrive in a 21st century workplace.
Microsoft’s Chief Data Scientist Juan Lavista Ferres shared his enthusiasm: “Our AI for Good awards highlight organizations and ideas making a real impact on some of today’s most complex issues that intersect with climate, health and humanity. These teams are clear-eyed about making a difference for people in Washington and around the world. We are honored to work with them.”
To learn more about Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington, see our website and follow us on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook.
Source: Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
