Goodwill offers tips to maximize effectiveness of holiday donations

As the new new year approaches and the holiday season comes to a close, it is typically the time where many locals clean out their homes and closets. Keeping this in mind, the folks at Goodwill have put together a list of tips to maximize the effectiveness of local donations to the Ballard store.

“Goodwill is so appreciative of our many donors in the community,” said Arie Mahler, Donations Manger for Seattle Goodwill.  “There are some small steps that can make a big difference in increasing donation value  – such as using a rubber band around the box to keep all the pieces of a puzzle together so none of the pieces get lost.”

Use the following tips and techniques from Goodwill to bring the most value to your donations:

•  To keep pairs of shoes together, please tie them together by the laces or rubber band them together.
• Rubber band or tape together boxes of games or puzzles.
• Bag up clothing and linens separate from other items.
• Tape remotes to electronic devices.  Tape a note to the electronic device indicating if it fully works.
• Box or bag like items together such as putting all the clothes together or all the dishes together in one container.
• For fragile items, please wrap them in paper and put them in a box and marked it “fragile.”
• For furniture that needs assembly put all fasteners in a plastic bag and attach it to the furniture.
• Check coat pockets and drawers to make sure not to donate any items that you want to keep.

Revenue from the sale of donations fund Goodwill’s free job training and education programs, which can lead to employment and fresh starts for people without jobs. Goodwill also provides career services that anyone can use to improve their chances of getting hired, including assistance in writing a résumé, job interview practice and access to job leads.

Goodwill also participates in the E-Cycle Washington program. JLocals can bring in old televisions, computers, monitors and laptops to Ballard Goodwill and the items will be recycled responsibly free of charge. Any unusable hard drives are destroyed so any remaining personal information is removed.

“The end of the year is the perfect time to donate to Goodwill!  The simple act of cleaning out your closets and donating to Goodwill will help us help others with free job training and education programs and provides donors with a tax write-off,” says Mahler.

Ballard Goodwill is located at 6400 8th Ave NW and accepts donations from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday – Saturday and  from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Click here to check out their holiday season opening hours.