One month after closing its previous Clewiston store, Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida is opening a much larger location on Friday, July 31 in the Clewiston Town Center (969 W. Sugarland Hwy.). Goodwill will cut the ribbon on the new retail and donation center at 8:45 a.m. with help from the Clewiston Chamber of Commerce, and the store will open at 9:00 a.m.
Visitors to the weekend Grand Opening celebration will have the opportunity to win a $100 shopping spree, along with other prizes. The Pig In or Pig Out cooking team will be on hand to sell lunch and early dinner on Friday, and will also provide complimentary sweet tea to customers during dining hours. In addition, people who donate to Goodwill over the weekend will receive an added discount.
At 16,000 square feet, the Clewiston Town Center Goodwill is approximately four times larger than the previous Clewiston Goodwill location. In addition to a larger sales floor and more merchandise, the store will also serve as a processing and salvage hub for Goodwill’s operations in Southwest Florida. In total, Goodwill has hired 20 employees to work at the new store.
The new Goodwill location will feature a Job-Link center, providing career training, job placement help, and family strengthening assistance for the community. Bob Haenggi, Vice President of Goodwill’s Career Development Services, explains: “The unemployment rate here in Southwest Florida shows that the demand for Goodwill’s Career Development and Job-Link services is continually growing. Our assistance is needed now more than ever to help Southwest Floridians in stabilizing their lives.”
Goodwill’s larger store is part of the agency’s efforts to expand its reach in Hendry and Glades counties. A Goodwill housing complex is under construction in LaBelle, and is expected to open by Fall, and other projects are in the planning stages for both Clewiston and LaBelle.
Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, Inc. serves Hendry, Glades, Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties. Revenue earned at Goodwill’s 24 Southwest Florida thrift stores supports programs and services for people with disabilities and other disadvantages. Programs include career training and placement services, income-sensitive housing for people with disabilities and senior citizens, and youth mentoring programs.
For more information about Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, visit http://www,goodwillswfl.org
