INDIANAPOLIS — Once you clear out what you don't want, then you need a place to drop off a donation. One familiar site uses your donations to provide jobs and give back.
When you donate items to Goodwill, the organization resells those items to help support their mission. The items first go to the stores and then they go to Goodwill's Outlet.
One could call James Abney a regular at the Goodwill Outlet in Greenwood.
"I'll spend three, four hours here and just enjoy it," Abney said.
Some search for specific items, but Abney goes for the thrill of the hunt.
"I just like the thrill of the chance of finding something good," Abney said.
"What this sort of becomes is sort of that last chance for your donation to support the mission of the organization," Cindy Graham, Vice President of Marketing for Goodwill Central and Southern Indiana, said. "But what these shoppers will tell you is it's the chance to find a treasure."
"If you donate to Goodwill we're going to do whatever we can do generate some revenue to support the mission," Graham said.
That money is put right back into the community, helping Goodwill provide programs, education and job training. For the treasure hunter like Abney, however, it's just for fun.
"Once you experience it and you find something... you'll be back," Abney said. "You'll be back for more."
For Goodwill, this is that final chance to make your donation count in your community.
The four outlet stores in central Indiana prevented 44 million pounds of waste from going into landfills.
