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Goodwill of Central Iowa Begins Offering Contact-Free Donations at Select Locations

May 8, 2020

Goodwill of Central Iowa opened 10 locations to receive contact-free donations today, May 8. The following locations will be open for donation drop-offs 7 days a week from 10am to 6pm: Ames, Indianola, Ottumwa, Johnston, Jordan Creek, West Des Moines, Urbandale, Ankeny, East Des Moines, and Marshalltown.

“We asked the community to support us when we voluntarily closed. The support was incredible. While we were closed, Goodwill continued serving our community by donating needed items to essential workers and offering virtual career preparation services. We knew we needed to close our stores and donation doors to the public until we felt we could safely reopen,” Jackie Norris, Goodwill of Central Iowa President and CEO said.

Additional safety procedures have been put into place to create a touch-free and safe donation drop-off experience for both donors and employees:

  • All donors and employees must be wearing face masks at all times
  • Bins will be set out for donors to drop their items directly into
  • Goodwill employees will be unable to help transfer items from vehicles into the bins
  • Receipts will be available to pick up at a designated “self-serve” table
  • Social distancing guidelines will be enforced

In addition, all donations will be quarantined for at least 72 hours before they are sorted or put on a sales floor.

Goodwill’s mission is to provide jobs and job training opportunities to people facing barriers to employment. In addition, Goodwill of Central Iowa is one of the largest recyclers in the region, diverting over 20 million pounds of donated items from local landfills each year.

“Now, we need your donations more than ever so once we open our stores, we’re ready to serve the community in new ways as we respond to the changing landscape of the employment market,” Norris said.

Please visit Goodwill’s website for a list of items that cannot be accepted at donation doors and familiarize yourself with the new safety protocols before arriving with your donations.

About Goodwill of Central Iowa

Goodwill of Central Iowa is a non-profit organization that uses a donated goods retail infrastructure to support programs improving the quality of life for anyone facing a barrier to employment across its 22-county region. The organization is dedicated to changing lives of Central Iowans with barriers to employment by helping them earn and keep jobs through workforce training in our businesses and your communities. In 2019, Goodwill of Central Iowa served 6,790 individuals through mission programming, including placing 558 in employment. In the last 10 years, Goodwill has served over 40,000 Central Iowans, with more than 5,000 placed in jobs. Learn more about Goodwill of Central Iowa through our website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.