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Fall leaves crunching under foot, cool autumn air, marching bands in motion, crowds cheering – it can only mean one thing: football season.

In the Miami Valley, football is a big deal, and for more than 10 years, high school football has been synonymous with more than just winning on the field.

Each season, top football matchups are selected and challenged to collect more household and clothing items for Goodwill Stores than their competitor in a special campaign called Drive to Victory.

Drive to Victory, a partnership between Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley (GESMV) and WHIO-TV 7, has worked with 36 high schools in the Miami Valley and collected over a million pounds of items in the past 11 years.

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"It's been a great partnership between WHIO-TV and GESMV, and this year Arby's joined in," said Matt Arntz, vice president of retail and facilities for GESMV. "It creates fun rivalries between schools that result in a significant number of great donations."

Each week competing schools are asked to donate items. Clothing, household goods, books, computers, even vehicle donations, which add a whopping 1000 pounds to a school’s total, can all increase a team’s chance of winning.

Donations are weighed, and the school with the highest weekly total takes home $300 for their general scholarship fund. At the end of the season, the school with the highest weight also receives another $1000 for their scholarship fund. Through the campaign and local partners, more than $30,000 has been given to participating schools for general scholarships.

Scholarship funds for students' higher education aren't the only benefit to this special competition. Donations from Drive to Victory are sold at one of the 30 area Goodwill Stores and proceeds generated from the sales support the programs and services provided by Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley, whose mission is to support local people with disabilities and disadvantages on their quest for independence.

“The campaign engages younger folks who will better understand us and what we do, because they’re our future shoppers and donors,” Arntz said. “We need them to engage so that, in the future, we continue to have the support to fund vital programs for people with disabilities.”

Mikia Black knows firsthand how Goodwill Easter Seals helps people. After a horrible accident and 32 days in a coma, Black faced months of recovery and rehab. When she was ready to work, GESMV was there to help her see beyond her physical challenges and permanent disabilities and find a job that allows her to support herself and her children. Be inspired by Mikia's story.

Drive to Victory highlights through the years

  • To date, 1,344,388 pounds of total goods have been collected during the campaign.
  • Fairborn High School collected the highest weight in a campaign with 36,140 pounds of items.
  • The highest weekly combined total occurred in a 2014 weekly battle between Valley View and Brookville, which generated a combined weight of 43,038 pounds, including two vehicles.
  • Fairborn High School has collected the most vehicles over the past 10 years, with 10 donations over the campaign's history.
  • This year, Brookville became a four-time season champ. Season champs are: Valley View (2007 and 2013), Northmont (2008), Troy (2009), Kettering Fairmont (2010), Brookville (2011, 2015, 2016, 2017), Greenville (2012), Fairborn (2014).

“Drive to Victory allows us to reach places in the Miami Valley where we currently don’t have a permanent donation or retail experience for our customers,” Arntz said.

High school football season may be over, but the opportunity to make a difference never stops. You can contribute your unwanted household and clothing items to any one of the area's 30 Goodwill Stores or donation centers, where your items are converted into victory for the more than 20,000 people each year who turn to Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley for support.

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