TACOMA – Despite a change in tax law, there is still time to qualify for 2006 tax benefits by dropping off “good, gently used” clothes to Goodwill stores or Attended Donation Stations by Dec. 31.

Tacoma Goodwill operates 20 retail stores and 14 additional donation sites across Western and Southcentral Washington. They maintain regular hours during the holiday season, closing at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. All Goodwill stores and donation sites will be closed Christmas Day. A complete list of stores and donation sites around Tacoma and Pierce County is available at www.tacomagoodwill.org.

The change in tax law, the Pension Protection Act, makes it the donor’s responsibility to determine the condition and value of donated items. Goodwill has always asked donated items be in “good, gently used” condition, now formally included in law.

“If you would give a donated item to a friend, then it’s likely they will be easy for us to resell,” said Terry A. Hayes, Goodwill CEO, noting the clothes shouldn’t require laundering or repair. “We’re grateful to the donors in our community that choose to give to Goodwill as a way to help further our mission of helping people with disabilities or disadvantages go to work.”

Nearly 90 percent of Goodwill’s annual revenues come from the sale of donated goods at the stores or online at www.shopgoodwill.com. Those revenues are used for employment skills training and job placement for people who would otherwise not be employed. Goodwill provided job training and placement services for nearly 4,000 people this year, 919 of them placed in jobs.