Goodwill Donations Drop During Cold Winter Storm

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The chilly weather is impacting donation bins across middle Georgia. Local Goodwill locations have seen a decrease in donations, leaving volunteers and officials worried, especially if temperatures drop again.

Normally at this time of year, there would be an overflow of boxes at one Goodwill donation center or another.

Yeah, there’s bins and boxes in their overflow room, but the problem is they are all empty.

And it’s causing employees like David Ward to get a little concerned.

“You just wait and keep yourself busy and try to do as best you can until somebody comes and brings in a donation,” Ward said.

Barren blue bins for linens and electronics line the entire facility.

Vicki Mills, the director of Marketing for the middle Georgia Goodwill, says donations don’t just go to the retail stores.

“They are the primary source for funding for our Goodwill job connection, which is our career development program and job services training,” Mills said.

“We helped over 21,000 people last year, and these people need us now more than ever, and it’s really tough economic times,” she said. 

Its’ help Ward went to when he fell on hard times.

When he was in between work, he relied on the job connection program to get him a job at the donation center.

“Real good people to work with. Just interacting with the donors and all, yeah it’s real good,” Ward said. 

Since he’s started at the donation center, Ward says he’s never felt better, especially knowing that he’s helping someone else.

“The mission that they have, to donate your clothes and they’re sold in the store, 84 cents out of every dollar goes into their programs like job connection, helps people find jobs. Anything where you work for a good cause that’s a real good thing,” Ward said. 

A good thing that could use some help, and well some good will.

Vicki Mills hopes middle Georgians get to their spring cleaning a little early this year. She says the donation center can take anything from gently used clothes, to books, or electronics, or even appliances.