CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Goodwill is asking for a stop in drop-off donations during the COVID-19 outbreak because these donations provide a health hazard.
“We have actually furloughed almost all of our staff; throughout South Texas we have furloughed 753 employees,” said Marjorie Boudreaux, Goodwill's vice president of marketing and fund development.
With no employees, it is impossible for Goodwill to accept donations.
“So we have closed our stores to the public three weeks ago, March 23, and we have asked the public to hold their donations, and three weeks into it, we are still seeing donations that are left unattended,” said Boudreaux.
But people are still dumping boxes filled with clothes, other items, and even trash.
“To be honest, because people are donating after hours and while we are closed, it is an additional burden for us," Boudreaux said. "You can see a lot of the items are unusable so we are collecting them and taking them to the landfill, and it is not environmental and not really safe."
Goodwill is always in need of donations and needs your support now more than ever—but not like this.
“A lot of people are unemployed, and you know Goodwill is about jobs, and the way we support our mission services program is through donations. So we do need donations, but just not right now,” said Boudreaux.
During this COVID-19 pandemic, Goodwill is asking people to organize their items at home and have them ready to donate when they reopen.