CLAY COUNTY – Goodwill Industries helps the community in a variety of ways throughout Northeast Florida, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are many locations where people can find …
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CLAY COUNTY – Goodwill Industries helps the community in a variety of ways throughout Northeast Florida, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are many locations where people can find many lightly used products, from clothing and shoes to housewares to sporting goods for low prices. As an organization, Goodwill also helps people in need find jobs and get training.
COVID-19, however, has affected Goodwill and its operations. Now reopened, it is striving to continue with their mission despite some of the unique challenges.
“Jacksonville is strong. North Florida is strong. And together, we are driving forward and getting through this one day at a time by following three simple principles: be kind, be safe, and work hard,” said David Rey, CEO of Goodwill Industries of North Florida via press release. “As a united community, we can make sure that our neighbors can enjoy the confidence that comes with feeling comfortable in their clothes, have opportunities to advance their education and job training to take the next life step, and the ability to get a great job and provide for themselves and their loved ones.”
One of the most unique and interesting challenges is the merchandise sold in stores is acquired by donation from the public. During the shutdown, people held onto their contributions until the stay-at-home order was lifted. Once that happened, Goodwill was overwhelmed by loads of drop-offs. There were so many Goodwill had a second team of employees who rotated to help sort donations and clean up the stores. Reopening was a significant challenge, according to Rey.
“We kept another team on staff,” he said. “They went store to store kind of cleaning the store up and getting it prepared. Getting our back rooms prepared for the influx of inventory. We kind of had that strategy and tied it in with a staggered rollout in the month of May.”
Goodwill is also a place to go back to school shopping for clothes and some school supplies.
“This [Goodwill] is really a good place to shop,” said Janice Wilcox of Middleburg. “And even though everything here isn’t in perfect shape if you take your time and look, there’s lots of deals you won’t find anywhere else. This place really is a hidden gem for back to school shopping on a budget.”
Rey keeps it simple on his overall thoughts about Goodwill, its reopening, and everything it has faced. While his mantra is directed to the Goodwill employees, it also applies to those shop there.
“Be kind, be safe, and work hard.”