Goodwill Of North Georgia Stores, Career Centers Open With Enhanced Safety Measures In Place

“We tried to do a phased reopening because we wanted to keep our customers and our employees as safe as possible,” said Parker.

“We had been shut down for almost two months, and we had been strategizing the entire time about what’s the right way to reengage.”

Last week, the nonprofit that serves 45 counties in Georgia reopened 21 of its stores and four of its career centers.

On Thursday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Parker told the show’s host, Rose Scott, that newly reopened Goodwill locations were selected with caution.

“So, our strategy ended up being: Let’s reopen in our more rural areas to get started, where we have lower volume and, in fact, the areas that don’t have many confirmed cases of COVID-19,” Parker explained.

As the next step in the phased reopening strategy, Goodwill welcomed customers to its remaining 44 brick-and-mortar stores and nine career centers.

Parker says donation centers are slated to open Monday, May 18, for contactless donations.

During the conversation, Parker stressed that all facilities have been deep-cleaned and sanitized and that Goodwill is working to protect the health of staff, customers, donors and job seekers through enhanced safety measures.

He also shared how Goodwill has connected at least 4,000 Georgians to jobs during the pandemic and shared his thoughts on what a post-pandemic workforce would like.

Guest:

• Keith Parker, president and CEO of Goodwill North Georgia

To listen to the full conversation, please click the audio player above.