COVID-19 Information & Impact

Information for Shoppers & Donors

• All retail locations are open to the public. Please check our locations page for current hours and any location-specific information.
• Shoppers may also visit shopgoodwill.com to view our ecommerce listings and enjoy a 24/7 contactless shopping option.
• Many donation sites have free-standing bins available for donors who prefer a contactless option. During business hours team members are available to help unload at drive-up donation sites. No donations are accepted at the Outlet Store. Donation pick-up services are not available.
• A limited number of dressing rooms are open at our traditional retail locations. There are no dressing rooms at the Outlet Store.
• Currently, our team members may choose whether or not to wear a face covering. We encourage shoppers and donors to do what they need to protect themselves, especially those who are not fully vaccinated.
• Our store and facility masking policy is based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data related to community transmission rates. If COVID-19 (or other disease) community transmission rise to a high level, mask requirements will be instated.
• Enhanced cleaning and other precautions remain in place.
• Goodwill Stores follow the law, including any existing mask mandates.

Goodwill of the Heartland relies on retail sales to fuel our mission to help people reach their full potential through education, training and the power of work. In fact, 88 cents of every dollar spent in our stores or online auctions is reinvested in the communities we serve. Our retail operations are the heart and soul of our nonprofit model and, largely because of that, the early weeks and months of the COVID-19 pandemic were an especially chaotic whirlwind.

I won’t rehash every detail of the past, but I will say the uncertainty of the pandemic was an unforgettable hurdle for our mission and organization. Job training and life-skill programs, overwhelmingly in-person at that time, were suspended. Retail locations were shuttered. At one point 93 percent of our workforce – about 600 people – were placed on temporary layoff.

Our priorities then remain our priorities now: Keep each other as safe as possible, provide for those who depend on us, and continue moving forward. Flexibility and innovation reinforced the foundation of our organization. Team member grit and determination throughout our organization inspired and propelled us from one day to the next. Generosity and support from our friends and neighbors sustained us.

No doubt advances like the availability of vaccines have made a huge difference, but I can’t deny the pandemic fundamentally changed us. It revealed our weaknesses and required us to do better for ourselves, for others and for our organization. With your help, we continue to reach toward that challenge.

Our community services adapted to unprecedented circumstances and continue to evolve in the face of new challenges. While retail operations have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, each day brings us a little closer to “normal.” Throughout our organization, team members have met and exceeded expectations, have done more with less and, most importantly, have refused to give up. I am humbled by them, as I’m humbled by your ongoing trust and support.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to navigate the uncertainties. Thank you for sustaining us. I firmly believe we will emerge leaner and stronger than we were before. The best is yet to come.