Goodwill stores are closed, but donation centers are open

“We have a lot people who are home and faced with the clutter there and some people are using this as a time to do something about it,” said Joe Scott with Goodwill of Central North Carolina, also known as Triad Goodwill.

Goodwill stores are closed until further notice, but rest assured that donation centers are open, albeit, with a few modifications.

The most noticeable is the lack of an attendant.

“We’re trying not to put our staff in contact with a bunch of people,” Scott said.

So donors are asked to unload items themselves and leave them curbside or in provided bins at donation centers.

Items will be brought in each day and thoroughly cleaned and processed for when retail stores reopen.

“We’re facing this crisis, but we also want to honor our commitment to our environment by keeping these items out of the landfill,” Scott said.

Scott said Goodwill kept 11 tons of items from the landfill last year.

That doesn’t mean some things aren’t better off put in the trash.

Goodwill asks that people not donate items that are soiled, wet or seriously damaged.

Scott said if an item is too heavy for a single person to load, it will be just as heavy to unload. Since staff will not be available to help with that, Scott said it’s best to hold onto that item until Goodwill returns to normal operation.

For those items that can be donated, hours for all donation centers are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

All Triad Goodwill retail stores are closed until further notice.

For information, visit www.triadgoodwill.org.