Goodwill of North Georgia’s plan to open a retail store in Cornelia is making some local charities uneasy. Like Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity, Circle of Hope, Sharing & Caring, Victory Home and Freedom Hill all rely on thrift store sales to help fund their programs. Some supporters of those charities are concerned they won’t be able to compete when Goodwill opens up its 64,000 square foot facility in the old Walmart store in Cornelia in September.
Goodwill to open locations in Cornelia and Clarkesville
Goodwill of North Georgia is a massive non-profit that, according to its management, pulls in upwards of $100 million annually on 53 retail outlets. The scale and scope of its operation is expected to impact the local non-profit landscape. The question is, how much? Right now no one knows, but local non-profits are concerned.
Increased competition
Sharing & Caring has thrift stores in Clarkesville and Cornelia. Agency president Gene Mallard says, with the addition of a Goodwill store in the county, “the market becomes more competitive.” Sharing & Caring, which provides emergency assistance, clothing and food to the needy, finances most of its food giveaways through thrift store profits. He predicts the increased competition will result in a downturn – “a change in the donations people make” to Sharing & Caring. “It will drive a lot of the small thrift stores out of business. It will certainly affect them,” Mallard says.
Habitat for Humanity builds homes for families unable to attain traditional home mortgages. Located on Rocky Branch Road in Clarkesville, the Habitat ReStore is a thrift store with a building supply section. Jan Pruitt, office manager for Habitat, says she isn’t sure how Goodwill’s retail store will affect Habitat but hopes that “Habitat has a good enough base in the area that we’ll come through it.”
That sentiment is shared by supporters of Circle of Hope which provides shelter and other services to abused women and their children.
The Habersham-based agency operates two thrift stores – one in Clarkesville, the other in Cornelia. The Cornelia store has been in business for three years, Clarkesville for fourteen. Executive Director Suzanne Dow says all of the thrift store profits fund Circle of Hope’s emergency shelter, which “operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.” Dow is concerned about a possible drop in donations and decrease in shopping once Goodwill opens its doors. “We don’t know what will happen,” she says.
No ill will towards Goodwill
Several non-profits are leaning on faith in the face of that uncertainty. Caleb Brown works at Victory Home’s thrift store. He says, “We are faithful that God will provide whatever we need for our ministry to thrive.”
Victory Home is a Christian residential facility in Tallulah Falls for men with substance abuse problems. Its thrift store is located on the grounds of the ministry off Highway 365 near Tallulah Falls. The store’s profits support the services provided to the men living there.
Victory Home’s thrift store offers, as does Goodwill, free pickup of donated goods including furniture, and delivery of purchased goods as a service to the community. Brown says, “If we keep our focus on God,” there will be continued success for the store. He says the store has experienced “a turnaround in success from one year ago” and adds, “God has blessed us” during that year.
Just down the road in Demorest, Freedom Hill provides similar services for women. Becky Griffin is the executive director. She describes Freedom Hill as a residential, Christ-centered regeneration program for women, 18 and up, who are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. There is a large thrift store in the gym on the Freedom Hill property that helps fund the ministry.
When asked about the possible impact of Goodwill on Freedom Hill Griffin responds, “Why worry? It’s a waste of time to worry.” She adds confidently, “…God’s going to provide.”
Goodwill responds to concerns
That’s the hope local non-profits now cling to – that there will be enough donations to go around to continue to fuel their fundraising efforts. Is it feasible? Maybe. Many patrons are loyal to their charities and although Goodwill’s thrift store will be the largest in the county it will be vying for dollars from charities deeply entrenched in the local community.
Goodwill of North Georgia’s 53 stores and 60 manned donation centers span from Griffin, Georgia to the Tennessee line. Public Relations Director Elaine Armstrong says “there are thrift stores in many of the areas we serve.” She adds, “With the opening of the Cornelia store and Clarkesville donation center we are committed to not only making an investment in the community, but we are establishing ourselves as part of the community.” She points to the 40 new jobs Goodwill is creating in Habersham County through its Clarkesville and Cornelia locations as evidence of that.
“It’s important to note that Goodwill of North Georgia is itself a charitable organization,” stresses Armstrong. “Raising the money to fund our job training programs and employment services is the reason our donated goods program exists.” She adds, “We are laser focused on what we do well, and that’s employment. We partner with organizations across our territory to help North Georgians with other needs they might have.”
Few would argue there are plenty of needs in our community, but are there enough donors? Enough shoppers? Can Habersham sustain the thrift store revenue model for meeting those needs? Time will tell and it won’t be long. The Clarkesville Goodwill donation center is set to open July 29th. The Cornelia Goodwill retail store and career center is scheduled to open September 24th.
