More than just a store
Apr. 5—The city of Lebanon will soon be home to Goodwill facilities for the first time since 2018.
Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee broke ground last week at 1414 West Main St. in Lebanon, where a new Goodwill retail store, Donation Express Center and in-store Career Solutions Center is being built. The facility will 20,000-square-feet and will sit on a 3.5 acre property.
The new facility is expected to employ approximately 20 individuals.
Kirby Wiley, the public relations and communications manager for Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, said that the hope is that the facility will be ready by late 2023.
"We are eager to once again be able to offer a wide selection of high-quality clothing and home goods at affordable prices to Lebanon," Wiley said. "We are also excited to offer local employment opportunities and provide easy access to numerous free career services through our non-profit mission of changing lives through education, training and employment."
With construction underway at the West Main Street location, the donation trailer that has resided there has been moved to 102 Rocky Road in Lebanon until construction on the permanent donation express center is complete.
"Through the years, Lebanon's residents have been extremely supportive of Goodwill and its non-profit mission of changing lives through education, training and employment," Wiley said. "We have been actively searching for a suitable building site since our previous Lebanon store at 1031 West Main St. closed in 2018."
The old facility had been open since May 2004 before it closed when the lease on the building was up.
"It's something that's really been missed in our community," Lebanon Mayor Rick Bell said. "People ask me all the time, 'When are we getting Goodwill again?' To see that work going on over there is a great thing, because it's a big vacant lot. To have Goodwill there is going to be a plus for everybody."
The people who have expressed interest to Bell have conveyed their fondness of Goodwill.
"It's a place where a lot of people go to get really good items and get it at a reasonable cost," Bell said. "It's somewhere where a lot of people like to shop, so we're glad it's back. When we heard they were coming back the city, I was thrilled, and I think that they'll do very well there."
The Goodwill Career Solutions Center will also benefit the community, in addition to bringing more shopping options to the city.
"Any time you have a career center, a place you can help place people in jobs, anything like that is great," Bell said. "Goodwill is more than just a store. It's an organization that helps people, and that's an added benefit to the entire community."
Returning to Lebanon was always in Goodwill's plan, according to Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee President and CEO Matthew Bourlakas.
"Through the years, Lebanon residents have been extremely supportive of Goodwill and its non-profit mission of changing lives through education, training and employment," Bourlakas said in a press release. "It was always our intent to reopen a store in the city, and we are tremendously excited that we will once again be able to offer quality merchandise at affordable prices, as well as numerous free career services in Lebanon."
