Goodwill of Greater Washington is temporarily closing all 18 of its donation centers in the D.C. area and there’s a good reason why: those centers have been overwhelmed with donations since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
And they’ve run out of space.
The closures take effect immediately. Goodwill expects to reopen centers Wednesday, July 8, with daily hours from noon to 3 p.m.
According to a news release, the organization had hoped that reopening its retail stores would alleviate some of the backlog, but “the volume of donations has only increased.”
“It’s a good problem to have in one sense because all of the donations can and will be sold to help fund our critical job training programs and services,” said Goodwill Chief Marketing Officer Brendan Hurley.
“However, with limited storage capacity, the volume is presently more than we can handle.”
The goal of the two-week closures is to free up space for donated goods as well as locate additional room.
All of Goodwill’s 20 D.C.-area retail stores are open, except for the store at 2200 South Dakota Ave. NE. Goodwill expects to open that store soon.
- Sign up for WTOP alerts
- Latest coronavirus test results in DC, Maryland and Virginia
- Coronavirus FAQ: What you need to know
- Coronavirus resources: Get and give help in DC, Maryland and Virginia
- Johns Hopkins faculty push against cuts prompted by pandemic
- Nursing home voices concerns as Md. facilities reopen to visitors
- Fairfax County offers 2 options for next school year
Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.