Goodwill adds convenience with new donation pickup service

With a decline in donations this past winter, Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina is making it more convenient for people to get their donations to a Goodwill facility. And what is more convenient than a house call? Goodwill now offers free pickup service for businesses and large residential donations within the greater Asheville area.

For residential pickups, there is a minimum requirement of at least two or more large items, such as furniture. However, additional items such as computers, clothing, and household items can be donated at the same time.

Sales of donated items in Goodwill’s retail stores helped place 5,120 people into jobs in northwest North Carolina in 2013 – 1,110 in the Asheville area alone. “Donations are critical to our success,” says Josh Pierce, director of Workforce Development Services for Goodwill’s western NC locations. “Our business model is simple and self-sustaining – people donate items; we sell those items in our retail stores; we take the revenue from sales and invest it in skills training and youth programs that make a difference right here in Asheville.”

To schedule a pickup, visit www.goodwillpickup.org or call 855-GWDONOR (855-493-6667). Donations also can be dropped off seven days a week at Goodwill’s more than 100 donation centers and stores in northwest North Carolina (27 in Buncombe County alone). To locate the Goodwill location nearest you, visit goodwillnwnc.org