Goodwill donations down
BY SARA PLUMMER World Staff Writer
Thursday, February 18, 2010
2/18/10 at 3:36 AM
At Tulsa's Goodwill Store on Southwest Boulevard, the customers keep coming in, but the merchandise is running out.
Donations were down 11 percent in December, usually one of the busiest months for the nonprofit organization. Doug Webster, director of operations for Goodwill Industries of Tulsa, said the Christmas winter storm that brought ice and snow to the state is partly to blame.
"We were fairly steady until the bad weather hit," Webster said, and the trend has continued into January and February. Donations are now down about 13 percent and the number of donors has dropped about 15 percent.
The earthquake in Haiti also had some people donating internationally instead of locally, as well as the recession affecting the Tulsa area more now than it did a year ago, Webster said.
"When people are uncertain about the economy, they're more reluctant to give," he said, meaning some people may be holding on to clothes, small home appliances and furniture instead of buying new items and donating their old ones.
Goodwill isn't the only nonprofit agency dealing with dwindling donations.
Donations are down about 20 percent at The Salvation Army Family Stores in Tulsa, said Sallie Godwin, public relations director. Proceeds from the store fund the organization's Adult Rehabilitation Center.
About 70 percent of Goodwill's operating budget comes from revenue generated at the stores, said Community Relations Director Nancy Webster, Doug Webster's wife.
It also funds the nonprofit agency's job training and job placement programs and well as funding payroll for some of the employees.
"It's a circle, basically," Doug Webster said, with donations turning into products for the stores, the products turning into revenue for the organization and then that revenue turning into payroll or funding for job programs.
Goodwill will take a variety of items, but what it needs the most is clothing. Two-thirds of the agency's revenue is generated from clothing sales, he said.
While the economy may be affecting items coming in through the donation doors, it's also having an effect on the number of customers coming through the doors.
The store sells primarily clothing, but other items for sale include furniture, books, toys, small appliances, bedding and decorative items.
"We're one of those undiscovered treasures," Doug Webster said. "There are some really good finds here."
It's great the stores are staying busy, Nancy Webster said, but donations are needed to keep racks and shelves filled with new inventory.
"Go home and go through your closet. We take gently used (items). Something you would give a friend," she said.
Dropoff hours for Goodwill stores
2800 Southwest Blvd.: open 24 hours
102 S. Garnett Road: 9 a.m. to 6:30
p.m. Monday through Saturday and
noon to 6 p.m. Sunday
19021 E. 51st St.: 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Monday through Saturday and noon
to 6 p.m. Sunday
For a full list of donation and store
sites, go to tulsaworld.com/goodwill.
If you have questions about possible
donations, call Goodwill’s donation
line at 581-1200.
Dropoff hours for Salvation Army stores
2150 S. Sheridan Road: 10
a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday
through Saturday
4508 S. Peoria Ave.: 10
a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday,
Tuesday, and Thursday
through Saturday, and 10
a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday
4700 W. Kenosha St.: 10
a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday,
Tuesday, and Thursday
through Saturday, and 10
a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday
Sara Plummer 581-8465
sara.plummer@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Susie Trusty browses through the racks at Goodwill Industries' store on Southwest Boulevard. The nonprofit agency is running low on donations for its resale stores because of recent winter storms and the tough economy. SHERRY BROWN/Tulsa World
|
