Best Charitable Organization

MARK RIGHTMIRE, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER The Goodwill Store & Donation Center on North Tustin Avenue in Orange. Goodwill was named the best thrift store in OC.

1. Goodwill of Orange County

Multiple locations; 714-795-3130; ocgoodwill.org

Last year, Goodwill Orange County held more than 345,000 hours of virtual service, ranging from check-ins with program participants to job training.

“I would have never imagined we would have done something that quickly, but we made it happen,” says Nicole Suydam, President and CEO of Goodwill Orange County. Of course, what helped the organization pivot to online services during the pandemic was the generous help of Orange County residents. When donation centers were allowed to reopen, locals came loaded with items that could be resold through Goodwill’s secondhand shops. “The community was so generous,” says Suydam, who estimates that there was a 30% increase in donations last year. “People were donating wonderful, good quality items. We’re able to turn around, sell those items and have it benefit the mission.”

Right now, Goodwill of Orange County is looking to how it can expand in the not-toodistant future, including possible new stores, and relaunching shopgoodwill.com. Back in 1999, Goodwill Orange County launched the website, which branches of the organization across the United States now use for online sales. As of last February, it has generated $1 billion in total sales and Suydam notes that half of that was earned in just the past three years.

“It was definitely ahead of its time when it started,” she says, “and we’re just trying to keep it innovative and forward-thinking.” Goodwill is also looking to help local people with disabilities and veterans, particularly with re-entering the workforce postpandemic.

2. Saddleback Medical Center Foundation

24451 Health Center Drive, Laguna Hills; 800-636-6741; memorialcare.org

“This organization is deeply rooted in philanthropy,” says Christy Ward, president of Memorial Care Saddleback Medical Center Foundation. That tradition goes back to the door-to-door fundraising that helped launch the hospital in 1974 and continued when the foundation launched in 1979. Last year, as Saddleback shifted to COVID-19 emergency response, the community helped out.

“Our community really rose to the occasion,” says Ward. “We were able to raise funds to support the response that we needed to care for the community during COVID.” Locals have also pitched in for initiatives like the nursing education program and catheterization lab.

Saddleback is looking to build a new, expanded, Breast Center that will be about 16,000 square feet on the Laguna Hills campus and will incorporate “all the healing properties of nature,” to create a calming space for those seeking both preventative care and cancer treatment.

3. OC Ronald McDonald House

Orange, Mission Viejo; 714-6393600; rmhcsc.org/orangecounty

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ronald McDonald House of Orange County needed to retool its services and limit the amount of families it could intake, but they never had to shut their doors. Thanks to donations from community members, the charity was able to acquire necessary PPE, provide meals for families and even keep a wish list of items for its clients.

Since 1989, Orange County Ronald McDonald House has provided temporary residences for the families of children staying in local hospitals. Right now, the agency is looking forward to a major expansion of its facilities to meet demand that has increased as Children’s Hospital of Orange County has grown.

According to Katie Russell, operations director of Orange County Ronald McDonald House, local support for the charity’s work can be partially attributed to its transparency.

“We are amazing stewards of our dollar,” she says, “so much of your dollar goes to the needs of the operation, versus to the operating cost of staff.”