By Suzanne Schmidt
Staff Writer
WESLEY CHAPEL—Many people probably have a pre-conceived notion of Goodwill offering used items, but the new store opening in Wesley Chapel might change that.
Michael Ann Harvey, president for marketing and public relations for Goodwill Industries-Suncoast, describes the outside of the new building as The Jetsons go to South Beach.
“It is a departure from what people expect to see when they go to Goodwill,” Harvey said. “We are hoping to attract people who have never shopped here before.”
The store will be open by the beginning of February, but the grand opening will be 9 a.m. Feb. 6. In addition to offering new and donated merchandise, the store also has a drive-thru donation lane.
Ed Malnory has been managing the building of the superstore. The store offers merchandise like clothing, furniture and household items.
“It doesn’t look like your mother’s Goodwill store anymore,” Malnory said. “It is the newest prototype so everything is electronic. There are also more categories and more quantity. This store will put out close to 100,000 pieces of clothing in the store in one month. We also put out fresh goods everyday all day, so there is always something new to see. If you can’t find what you are looking for here, you won’t be able to find it anywhere.”
Along the entire back wall and other parts of the store, there is a mural that represents Goodwill’s values. Harvey said the mural is titled The Power of Work.
“It shows the people we assist, our shoppers and our values like education,” Harvey said. “In one section, the clients with disabilities get assistance with daily life skills like dressing themselves and doing laundry. In another section a group of people sits around studying.”
Even though the store hasn’t opened yet, Malnory said there have been donations out in front of the store everyday for the last three weeks. He said even without that, the organization has been saving up donations for six months at their headquarters in St. Petersburg.
Mistie Bradley, manager of the new store, said she is excited to see it open. She has been waiting for this opportunity since she started at Goodwill in Land O’ Lakes 13 years ago as a cashier.
“The people I meet keep me here,” Bradley said. “They started out as just my customers, but then they became family. The new store is exciting because now I will get to meet more people.”
Many of the people on her staff in the Land O’ Lakes Goodwill store had the option of moving over to the new store or staying. She said about 10 decided to stay at the old location, 21503 Village Lakes Shopping Center, which will stay open for at least the next year.
The revenue from the stores is critical to supporting Goodwill’s programs like BookWorks. Through BookWorks, the organization brings volunteers into pre-schools and Head Start centers to read and hand out books to the children. The new store will be the headquarters for the program in Pasco County.
“Before when we would meet up with the volunteer readers, we would have to go all over the place,” Harvey said. “We are hoping now to expand the program. We need volunteers and we have to establish relationships with Head Start centers and pre-schools.”
Harvey said there are a few qualities that make for a good volunteer for the program.
“We are looking for someone who loves little children, who has a flair for drama when they read and someone who believes literacy is a key to our future,” Harvey said. “The volunteers get to teach kids to value and treasure their books.”
In addition to helping young children, Goodwill also has programs to help people with developmental disabilities.
“The programs we have are aimed at helping people get jobs so they can become self-sufficient,” Harvey said. “We offer job placement and coaching for as long as a person needs the help. Our outlet stores are also staffed by people with disabilities.”
For information, visit www.goodwill-suncoast.org.
