Niagara Falls Goodwill store has a new look

Mark Scheer, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·2 min read

Jun. 30—Customers got their first look on Friday at the new-look Goodwill store in the city.

Representatives of Goodwill held a grand reopening event at the store, 6530 Niagara Falls Blvd.

The Niagara Falls location originally opened in April 2018. It recently underwent a makeover to increase the retail space by about 40%. A new drive-up, covered donation center has been added. One of the goals of the new design is to encourage donors to come inside to find quality, budget friendly clothing and household items.

"We've been in this store for several years, but we decided to expand the store, remodel it," said Tom Ulbrich, president and CEO of Goodwill of WNY. "We wanted to make it larger because of all the support we get from the Niagara Falls community."

The store and donation center are open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

"It is a great day to see the reopening of Goodwill's newly expanded retail store," said Kory Schuler, executive director of the Niagara USA Chamber of Commerce. "The work Goodwill does in assisting people with barriers to employment, such as this store, is such an important part of workforce development. We are proud to have them as partners in Niagara County,"

Founded in Boston by the Rev. Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister, Goodwill Industries International focuses on the resale of used household items and clothing at affordable prices while providing job opportunities to those in need. Now headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, in 2022 Goodwill served more than 2 million people worldwide, with more than 128,000 people receiving job training for careers.

Locally, proceeds from store sales are used to support Goodwill's workforce development programs including the Goodskills Career Builder initiative, which expanded into Niagara Falls this past February, building on its success in Erie County.

Goodskills provides four weeks of training and experiential learning at no cost to participants and prepares and places individuals in advanced manufacturing careers. Classes are held at the Orleans-Niagara Workforce Training Center downtown and enrollment is open.

For more information, visit Goodwillwny.org.