Congratulations to all you brilliant commenters who suggested that the mysterious, one- word "WILL" billboards around town -- whose meaning we pondered fruitlessly last week -- referred to the 90th birthday of the non-profit Goodwill Industries, which I just applauded as a great place to find budget Halloween costumes. Your investigative reporting skills are much better than mine. Now let’s spoil the fun for everyone else…
A quick check on Goodwill Denver’s website reveals that, indeed, its 90th birthday is approaching. And the social service agency fits the clues given on the billboard’s website. Through its youth services programs, Goodwill claims to have helped "15,000 disadvantaged teens" with paid internships, mentoring programs, college prep and other kinds of support. Which explains why the "Will" website asks people to guess how many students Will has helped graduate in ninety years.
The billboard’s website also notes that Will "has helped Denver students, workers, families and the community" -- praise that almost exactly matches this description on Goodwill’s website: "Through job readiness training, career development, and programs that help students stay in school -- and graduate -- Goodwill helps strengthen families, and ultimately, our community"
And finally, Goodwill’s colors are blue, white and black, which are the same colors featured on the billboard.
So, you can keep guessing if you want -- you might even win a free Wii! -- but it looks like the secret’s out. Happy birthday, Goodwill. -- Lisa Rab
