Apr 24, 2020 By For The Greene County Messenger 2 min read

Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania has opened no-contact, self-service donation areas at each of their area local stores.

Donation centers will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The organization had previously asked donors to refrain from leaving goods outside of donation centers, but noted that people continued to leave items. Some donations were ruined or damaged as a result.

“We know that many people are doing their spring cleaning while at home during the COVID-19 situation,” said Mike Smith, President/CEO of Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania. “We know people need an outlet for all of the merchandise they have accumulated, and we don’t want community donations to end up in the trash. Having our donation centers available helps alleviate unintended health and safety consequences, as well as hurting our environment by filling landfills with material that could be reused.”

There will now be specially marked bins or donation areas at all Goodwill stores where donors can drive up and leave bagged or boxed items, or furniture small enough to be moved by one person.

Once items are dropped off, employees will move donations to quarantine areas inside the store, where they will sit for at least 72 hours.

All employees responsible for moving items will wear gloves while handling donations.

Those who wish to get a receipt can either scan the posted QR code or visit www.goodwillswpa.org/receipt to get an electronic receipt.

Goodwill has stores locally in Uniontown, Belle Vernon, Mount Pleasant, Washington and Morgantown, West Virginia.