Goodwill to open first Utah store in Millcreek

The first Goodwill store in Utah is slated to open for business on April 26 at 4545 South 900 East. The store began collecting donations on Jan. 3. The donation center is manned so donations will be taken care of on site.

Utah is the last state in the contiguous 48 to have a Goodwill store. The only state that doesn’t have a Goodwill location is Alaska.

“We wanted out first store to be in Salt Lake County, on the east side, predominantly for the donations from the higher income areas. This location ended up being perfect for drive by donations and the size of the building giving it the ability to have storage,” Assistant Vice President Lee Manwaring said.

The store, located in the old Ethan Allen building which is currently undergoing renovations, is 27,800 square feet.

“We only need about 15,000 for merchandise. Another 4,500 feet will be used for processing. The rest will be used for recycling and storage,” Manwaring said.

When the store opens, Manwaring anticipates 30 to 35 job positions being available. During its busy season, Halloween, another 15 to 20 jobs are expected to be available.

“Our ‘Christmas’ tends to be Halloween when people are coming in to buy costumes and such. We also have a change of season that draws people in to purchase things. Our core business is used merchandise,” Manwaring said.

Manwaring said one of the reasons it’s taken so long for Goodwill to have a location in Utah is because Deseret Industries is such a large operation. There are currently 22 Deseret Industries locations in Utah.

“We feel that there are plenty of people and plenty of donations,” Manwaring said.

Goodwill is affiliated with National Easter Seals and Goodwill Industries International. The Easter Seals-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain organization approved Utah as a location for a Goodwill store about seven months ago.

“Ninety-three percent of the profits from the store will be put back into the programs we support,” Manwaring said.

Those programs include Autism services, senior work placement programs and childhood development services. Goodwill also works with local scout groups and church organizations to organize clothing drives.

“The more we are accepted in the community, the more we can support the groups in the community,” Manwaring said. “If anyone wants to volunteer, we do things with church groups and Boy Scouts for donation drives.”

Approved donations include used clothing, housewares, appliances, sporting goods and furniture.

“We’ll accept pretty much anything, except items that contain harmful chemicals,” Manwaring said.