Goodwill News

Amherst Store opening >>

On July 9, 2010 Goodwill Industries of the Pioneer Valley opened it's first store in Amherst Ma. The Amherst Bulletin ran the following store just before the opening: Goodwill store to open next month on University Drive By Scott Merzbach Staff Writer Published on June 25, 2010 A Goodwill thrift store featuring used clothing, furniture, housewares and other low-cost items is expected to open next month at the Amherst Shopping Center on University Drive. "We're really glad, really happy, to be in Amherst," said Steven Mundahl, president of Goodwill Industries of the Pioneer Valley. "We think we're perfect for UMass and the other colleges in the area, because our prices are even lower than discount retailers." The space at 183 University Drive, which was built for a Hollywood Video that opened in 2005 and has been vacant for two years, is being renovated to accommodate the Goodwill store. Mundahl said Goodwill had been looking to expand into Amherst for a long time, but was waiting for a suitable site. The 6,000-square-feet location, in the same complex as Big Y Supermarket, is only slightly smaller than the thrift store that opened in March 2009 at 971 Bridge Road in Northampton, and offers a similarly bright, clean retail space, Mundahl said. Though Goodwill was absent from Northampton for eight years, shoppers have discovered it over the last year. "We've done exceptionally well in Northampton," Mundahl said. He hopes the same success can be found in Amherst, where the Goodwill store will fit the community's ethos of reusing and recycling. About 70 percent of the products for sale will be lightly used clothes, with the rest of the merchandise including household items, such as lamps, dishes, small appliances and furniture, camping equipment and bicycles, as well as books and record albums. While a Salvation Army store is located nearby on Route 9 in Hadley, Mundahl said there will be a friendly competition between the two and that both are important local nonprofits. Proceeds from the Goodwill store, like the other eight in the area, benefit Goodwill Industries of the Pioneer Valley, which this year is celebrating 85 years of assisting people with disabilities and other disadvantages with job training and finding and maintaining work. The other stores currently generate $3 million in sales, with 95 cents of every $1 going toward rehabilitation services, Mundahl said. Annually, the Pioneer Valley Goodwill works with 1,000 individuals, with about 300 of these people helping to staff the stores. The Amherst store will have 14 full-time employees, supplemented by people with disabilities brought to and from the site daily for work. Goodwill is encouraging people to begin dropping off items this month. People are welcome to donate used clothing and household items at the site weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at which time they can get a receipt for tax purposes. The store's regular hours will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.