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Goodwill encourages residents to wait on donations of goods

By Staff | Apr 26, 2020

Spring is the most popular time for people to clean out their closets, but this year everything is different. Goodwills around New Hampshire are closed, but the nonprofit is asking people to hold onto their donations until it’s safe to donate again.

“We know people have been clearing their homes during quarantine, and it’s inconvenient not to be able to donate right now, but we’re asking people: Please hold onto those items until we can reopen. We’re going to need them and the planet needs us to all do our part,” said Kossi Gamedah, the senior vice president of retail operations at Goodwill Northern New England.

Goodwill Northern New England offers workforce support to people who have been laid off, or otherwise need help getting job training and career placements. As the pandemic progresses, the need for those services is rising. Donations to Goodwill stores helps fund those programs.

“We need the donations because they support our programs,” said Rich Cantz, the president and CEO of Goodwill NNE. “Like a lot of stores, it was a huge hit to close our doors, but unlike most stores, we’re a nonprofit and the money from our stores directly impacts important programs around the state. There is no easier way to help the Earth and our community than by donating to your neighborhood Goodwill – and this year, that might require a little extra patience.”

The stores will reopen their donation doors once the governor says it is safe to do so.

For now, you can support Goodwill and find awesome deals by shopping in either of their online stores at  https://www.ebay.com/str/goodwillindustriesofnne  or  https://www.amazon.com/s?i=merchant-items&me=A2GBCRGIWRDXK8. If you are more in the mood for books to help pass the time while you are social distancing, head to  https://www.goodwillanytime.org/  for thousands of books, some starting as low as $0.01 (in essence free) plus shipping.

As a reminder, Goodwill always accepts: Clothing, shoes, household items and books in resaleable condition. The nonprofit can’t accept: Broken or stained items, mattresses, baby furniture, batteries, liquids, tires and more. For more information, including a list of acceptable donations, visit  GoodwillNNE.org/Donate  or call 207-774-6323. All donations to Goodwill are tax deductible.

Goodwill Northern New England is an independent nonprofit social enterprise in Maine, New Hampshire and northern Vermont. Last year Goodwill kept more than 65 million pounds of stuff out of our region’s landfills – if you put all of those items in tractor trailers and lined them up, the line would be 26 miles long. Goodwill NNE uses revenue from its stores to fund innovative workforce programs.

Top items to donate: 

• Clothing and shoes

• Electronics: computers, cell phones and game consoles

• Musical instruments

• House wares

• Jewelry

• Books and vinyl records

• Tools

• Games and toys

• Your old car

What not to donate: 

• Clothing that is soiled, wet or torn.

• Furniture that’s broken, torn or stained, covered in pet hair or has missing parts.

• Baby furniture or car seats.

• Tires, batteries, gasoline, motor oil.

• Paint, lightbulbs, flammable or combustible gases (propane, butane, oxygen, etc.).

• Mattresses, box springs, water beds or water bed frames.

• Guns or other firearms, bullets or other ammunition, explosives.

• Organs and pianos.

• Medical devices like wheelchairs or walkers.

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