Goodwill Industries opens new retail store and donation center in Bucyrus
The place to be in Bucyrus on Friday morning was at the brand-new Goodwill store in the East Pointe Plaza Shopping Center.
“We have 30 carts and within two minutes, we were out of carts,” said Brandi McVeigh, assistant manager of the new store at 211 Stetzer Road.
She estimated there were about 50 people in the spacious store within minutes after the doors opened.
Dan Wells said his wife, Roxanne, wanted to be the first one in the door of the new store.
“My wife has been so excited about this store opening. She has driven a lot of miles over the years to the Marion store so it will be nice to have one here in town,” Wells said as he made his way through the crowded parking lot in front of the store.
Bucyrus resident Tonie Cady said she is also excited to have a Goodwill store close by.
People have a chance to buy recycled items
“It is great that items can be recycled that people no longer need so that people who do need them, will have a chance to get them,” Cady said about items donated to the store to be resold.
Kathy Wink, vice president of marketing for Goodwill Industries, said the Bucyrus store is the tenth location to open in the district that includes Crawford, Marion, Delaware, Union and Morrow counties.
“This store is the second one to open in Crawford County. The other one is in Galion,” said Wink.
The store has set up shop in two spaces of the East Pointe Plaza Shopping Center near Walmart that once housed Fastenal and a beauty salon.
Wink said the store includes clothing for men, women and children, fitting rooms, household items, books and other media, electronics, furniture, sports equipment and even brand-new items, including candy and holiday decorations.
A separate area adjacent to the main store was bustling with activity as employees worked to sanitize, inspect and price donated items.
Inventory from Marion and Galion stores brought to Bucyrus
“We will have our signage up next week but anyone who wants to donate items can drive around to the back of the building. We will have a cord and alarm system soon that will alert workers inside that someone is there to drop off items. We have someone currently keeping an eye out for people until that is installed,” said Wink.
She said some inventory from the Galion and Marion Goodwill locations was brought over to the Bucyrus store for opening day.
“The staff was trained at the Marion and Galion stores too,” said Wink.
Courtney Herr, manager of the Bucyrus location, said she has 23 employees.
“We are all excited to be here. I actually left a job that I loved and worked at for 10 years to take on this new position because I really believe that we need this store in Bucyrus,” Herr said as she and McVeigh greeted customers at the front entrance.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at the store from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sept. 26. The store hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
By donating and shopping at Goodwill, customers help fund job training and placement programs for individuals with barriers to employment.
"Our retail stores fund our job training and placement programs, and this is all made possible through the support of the community. Each store we open allows us to continue our mission of helping those in the community find jobs," said Michelle Roberts, president and CEO of Marion Goodwill Industries. "We're very excited to open a new location in Crawford County and appreciate our many loyal shoppers and donors."
For more information, visit mariongoodwill.org or Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Goodwill Industries opens Bucyrus retail store and donation center
