Goodwill Anticipates Surge of Donations During Holidays

Middle Tennessee residents can help their communities and themselves by donating gently used clothing and household goods to Goodwill before Christmas to beat the annual year-end rush.

Each year from Dec. 26-31, the number of donations at Goodwill Donation Express centers rises dramatically. In 2017, donations on these six days rose by nearly 55 percent compared to other days of the year.

Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee depends on this surge of donations  — as well as other donations given throughout the year — to fund its mission of changing lives through education, training and employment. Each year thousands of people in communities across Middle and West Tennessee benefit from Goodwill’s free services, ranging from monthly job fairs at Career Solutions Centers to training in construction, call center and forklift operation.

Donating to Goodwill not only helps other people in the community, it also helps the environment. In 2017, Goodwill diverted more than 32 million pounds of useful materials from landfills through its recycling efforts.

The end-of-year donation rush is prompted by people cleaning out their closets, attics and garages to make room for holiday gifts. Here are a few things to keep in mind when donating to Goodwill:

When decluttering your home, consider the One-Year Rule: If you haven’t worn it, used it or played it in one year, it is probably time to donate it.

Please remove hangers from clothing.

Hours vary by Donation Express Center location. Please only leave donations when an attendant is on duty.

Goodwill cannot accept some items, such as household chemicals and older, tube-style televisions. Lists of some other items that can and cannot be accepted are on Goodwill’s website.

Goodwill’s donation receipt includes a 10 percent off coupon for Goodwill stores.

You can track your donations at mygoodwilldonation.org.

There are more than 70 Donations Express Centers located throughout the 48-county territory, and most are open seven days a week. Locations, hours and much more information can be found online at  www.giveit2goodwill.org.

Learn more about all the ways you can donate to Goodwill through our many services

Goodwill of Middle Tennessee as over 70 donation locations. Find a donation center near you: