IOWA CITY, IOWA (May 8, 2020) — Goodwill of the Heartland will open eleven of its Iowa retail locations for donation acceptance only on Monday, May 11. Locations include its three Cedar Rapids stores, Marion, Iowa City, Coralville, Washington, Muscatine, Bettendorf, Davenport, and Burlington. These eleven stores will then open to shoppers on Friday, May 15. Hours of operation for donating and shopping will be reduced to Monday–Saturday, 11AM-6PM, and Sunday, 12–5PM, until further notice.

The non-profit retailer is expecting a pent-up flow of donations when it re-opens. Vice President of Marketing Mindy Kayser said, “We know that people have been using their extra time at home to do lots or cleaning and organizing and they have donations packed and waiting for us. Opening up a few days just for donation acceptance will allow our employees to work through the expected surge and to get our stores re-stocked.”

Goodwill is instituting a no-contact donation drop-off procedure. Donors are asked to pre-sort their donations by clothing and non-clothing items in advance and to deposit them directly into large gaylord boxes staged in the donation drive through lanes at the stores. Goodwill will quarantine all donations for at least 72 hours before processing them for the sales floor.

When stores re-open, shoppers will notice new safety measures in place there too.

  • Face masks will be required of all employees and shoppers.
  • Plexiglass guards will be installed at cash registers.
  • Limits will be placed on the number of shoppers allowed in at a time.
  • Floor tape will designate places for customers to stand (6 feet apart) in line while waiting to check out.
  • Dressing rooms will be closed.
  • Drinking fountains will be turned off.
  • Cleaning and disinfecting public and employee areas will take place regularly throughout the day.
  • Greeters will be stationed at the front entrance to sanitize carts, welcome shoppers and explain new safety protocols.

Stores in Keokuk and Fairfield, Iowa as well as three Illinois locations in Geneseo, Rock Island, and Moline will remain closed until further notice. The Clinton, Iowa Goodwill store reopened to both shoppers and donors on Friday, May 1.

For more information and updates as they occur, please follow Goodwill of the Heartland on social media and visit www.goodwillheartland.org.

About Goodwill of the Heartland

The mission of Goodwill of the Heartland is to advance the social and economic well-being of people who experience barriers to independence. Goodwill offers life and job-skill development, work experience, job-placement assistance, day habilitation, supported community-living, workforce services to employers, and contract manufacturing, assembly, and packaging. In 2019, Goodwill provided more than 20,000 services to people with barriers in its 19-county service area. For more information, including retail, donation, and service locations, please visit www.goodwillheartland.org or call toll free 1-866-466-7881.

Goodwill of the Heartland is a diverse organization. Our 17 retail stores provide revenue to fund services for thousands of individuals who face barriers to independence. See Our latest news releases.

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