Four Goodwill of Central Iowa locations will close because of the coronavirus pandemic.
After reopening some of its locations in Iowa for shopping and donations, the organization announced that select locations will close "due to the negative impact of COVID-19": Grinnell, Waukee, South Des Moines and Oskaloosa.
"This is so hard for us. We have so much support and so much love for these communities," Goodwill of Central Iowa wrote. "We will continue looking for new ways to continue serving, and once we lift ourselves back onto our feet, we hope we can re-evaluate store locations and re-enter some communities."
Goodwill recently implemented contactless drop-offs, with donations sorted into assigned bins.
"We are going to be quarantining our donations for 72 hours before we are able to go through them and put them out on the sales floor," Davenport Goodwill assistant manager Madison Houssman said.
The stores' COVID-19 safety procedures are as follows:
- All employees and customers will be required to wear masks at all times
- Stores will be operating at reduced hours to allow for additional time for deep cleaning
- Carts, counters, doors, bathrooms and other commonly touched spaces will be cleaned frequently
- Maximum capacity will be limited and regulated to allow for social distancing while shopping
- Employees will be surveyed at the start of each shift to assess for illness and exposure
- All donated items will be quarantined for at least 72 hours before being placed on the sales floor
- Hand sanitizer will be readily available to customers and employees
- Fitting rooms and drinking fountains will remain closed until further notice
"Our South Career Connection Center is closed, with hopes that we can provide a more sustainable way to provide those services," the announcement from Goodwill adds. "In addition, we've made the tough decision to close our South Outlet, with plans to re-locate the outlet back to Johnston's headquarters location mid-year 2021."