LONGVIEW– Goodwill will bring together all its Longview services into a single, new location starting June 28.
That’s when a new store, donation station and job-placement and training site will be the site of a public grand opening ceremony starting 8:30 a.m. at 1030 15th Ave. in downtown Longview. The store’s normal business hours will be Mondays-Saturdays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The store can be reached at 360.425.7520.
The grand-opening event will include a drawing for prizes, including a digital camera, iPod, prepaid gas cards and Goodwill gift cards. Representatives from the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce and other local officials will be on hand.
“Longview has always been a wonderful and supportive Goodwill community,” said Terry A. Hayes, CEO of Tacoma Goodwill, which oversees services in Longview. “We felt we needed to expand as a way to improve service to our valued customers.”
The Longview Goodwill Store currently located at 720 14th Ave. will remain open through June 23 with a variety of in-store specials. The store sells clothing, linens, accessories, house wares, books, sports equipment, furniture and some small appliances, among other items.
About the store
Goodwill has had a store in Longview for 30 years and plans on staying in the community, said Ken Lund, Goodwill’s chief operating officer. There is a 15-year lease on the property with extensions available.
Lund said the new site will also mean more jobs. There are 33 employees in the existing store but between 40 and 50 people could work at the new site.
Store Manager Pam Yanez said she is excited about what the new site will offer customers, including nearly 10,000 square feet of retail space with new lighting fixtures and upgraded fitting rooms and more registers to speed shoppers on their way. There will also be more parking and classroom space for job-training, financial literacy and other programs Goodwill offers its employees.
“We want to keep Longview a family store,” Yanez said. “We’ll have a shopping environment that’s comfortable and up-to-date.”
New Donation Location
The store move will also include a convenient donation drop-off location on the same property. The new donation station will formally open June 28 at the site of the new store, 1030 15th Ave. The old location will remain open until donations are transferred to the new store.
The donation site at the store received 2,309,418 pounds of gently used, ready-to-sell clothes and household goods. The donations were a result of 42,767 visits from Kelso-Longview area residents who, by donating, participate in Goodwill’s mission.
Overall, in 2006, Tacoma Goodwill received 46.2 million pounds of recycled goods. The donations were a result of more than 840,000 donor visits from across the service area.
Vocations Unlimited moves
Tours of Longview’s job-placement and training office, Vocations Unlimited, will also be available after the ceremony. Ron Blasco is manager of the office, which provides a variety of job-training and placement programs including retail and computer skills.
The office also provides Adult Basic Education/GED programming to the general public through a partnership with Lower Columbia Community College. The office also oversees Goodwill’s “Older Worker” training program, geared for those of low income age 55 and older. For information about the program, call 360.578.4211.
The number to call the Vocations Unlimited office will remain 360.425.6929. The office had been located at 1362 Tennant Way.
Vocations Unlimited served 456 people last year. About 215 people were part of the Ex- offender Program, which helps ex-offenders join the workforce to lead productive lives. Nearly 200 other people participated in the office’s Maximize Your Potential Program, which teaches interviewing skills, resume writing and other essentials to finding a job.
