Historic Timeline ⋆ Good News Project

Beginning Years

1983-1984 – First GNP music group/workshop and discovery trip to St Lucia
1985 – First official volunteer group in St Lucia, led by Peg & Chuck MacCarthy.

1989 – First Humanitarian shipment through the Denton Amendment Program (a USAID and Air Force partnership which moves cargo by plane to developing countries)
1991 – First group in Layou, St. Vincent
1994 – First group in Vieille Case, Dominica.

1998 – Expansion in St Vincent to southern beach (Indian Bay); Good News Project replaces homes, offering a dry and safe place for a family to live.
1998 – Good News becomes a 501 (c)3 independent organization; First Board of Directors is established, and warehouse is acquired through the generous assistance of the Judd S Alexander Foundation

2000 – First full time employee hired (along-side two part time employees-accountant & warehouse)
2000 – Block home for Children built in St Lucia by volunteers
2001 – Expansion to Castle Bruce, Dominica
2003-2005 – Expansion to Union Island, this venture ends in 2005

2004 – Volunteer, Pat Peckham, connects us with an electronics recycling event. We saw the fundraising potential and decided to try our own event at our facility.

2005 – Health Equipment Lending Program (HELP) begins
2005-2006 – e-CYCLING annual events expand to Merrill and Antigo communities
2006 – International; Expansion to Grenada after Hurricane hits; this venture ends in 2012

2008 – Dentistry assistance in St. Lucia begins leading to a more formal volunteer-initiated dentistry partnership in 2012

2012 – Because of the demand for electronics recycling services, we open e-CYCLING to the public every Friday between 10-4
2013 – HELP Collaboration/contracts with Medicare Agency begins
2013 – First family trip in June

2016 – HELP Sanitizing machine purchased through grant (BA & Esther Greenheck)
2017 – Full-time HELP management position; Good News Project now has 4 full time employees
2017 & 2018 – Nation Based Service Trips to Lumberton, NC for hurricane recovery.
2018 – e-CYCLING annual event in Rhinelander with nonprofit partner NATH.
2018 – GNP celebrates 35 years as an organization!

2019 – Good News Project kicks off our first ever Capital Campaign to make much needed building improvements to better serve our customers and volunteers. Goal = $950,000
2020 – Wisconsin DNR recognized Good News Project with Recycling Excellence Award, which celebrates outstanding recycling efforts, innovation and performance throughout Wisconsin AND Harvard University’s prestigious Harvard Health Letter cited Good News Project as a source for used home medical equipment!
2020 – International travel ceases due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

2021 – Good News Project re-brands and creates a new vision statement: Be the good for the environment and each other.
2021-Phase1A of Capital Campaign is accomplished. GNP has a new parking lot, new overhead door for e-CYCLING, new technology for the office, and the exterior of the building is repainted.
2022- GNP partners with Chalice of Mercy, a non-profit in Eau Claire, to send a shipment of durable medical equipment to a military hospital in Ukraine.
2022- A Volunteer Coordinator is hired thanks to a generous grant from Impact100 Greater Wausau.
2023-Phase 1B of Capital Campaign is accomplished resulting in a new lobby and reception area, new offices, new clean room, 3Phase electric, new electric forklift, and solar panel installation.
2023-GNP celebrates 40 years as an organization!
2024 (First Quarter) – 70% of funds are raised for Capital Campaign and two more part-time employees are hired to assist with customer service growth within our HELP program.

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