HAZLET – Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia will open its Hazlet store and donation center on Jan. 14 in Hazlet Plaza at 3035-B Route 35 North at the intersection of Poole Avenue. The site was formerly occupied by Toys-R-Us.
With the opening of the store in Hazlet, Goodwill’s Aberdeen Township store and donation center a few miles down the road at 228 Route 35 will officially close effective Jan. 13 at 7 p.m., according to a press release.
According to Goodwill President and CEO Mark B. Boyd, the sub-lease at the Aberdeen location was not renewed and additional space was needed to accommodate continued growth.
Goodwill’s new Hazlet store and donation center features 19,500 square feet of space and will be stocked with new and gently used clothing, accessories, household items, toys, furniture and more. The site has ample room in the rear where residents can donate gently used items they no longer need in return for a tax deduction, according to the press release.
“Our inventory is at an all-time high right now,” said Boyd. “We have been blessed with a dramatic increase in donations since the pandemic began. People are de-cluttering at a rate we have never seen before. This, along with plenty of additional space, creates an incredibly vast inventory for our bargain savvy shoppers.”
A nonprofit, community-based organization, Goodwill’s charitable mission is to provide job training and career services that help local residents who have disabilities and disadvantages get to work. The collection and resale of donated goods in Goodwill’s retail stores fund these programs while contributing to the region’s recycling efforts, according to the press release.
Donations, including clothing, household items, furniture, toys, books, computers, home medical equipment and much more, will be accepted at the rear of the store. Because Goodwill is a nonprofit organization, all donations are tax deductible by law and receipts are provided.
Donors play a vital role in Goodwill’s ability to fulfill its charitable mission of helping people get to work, according to the press release.
Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia is part of an international network of 158 independent, community-based Goodwills in the United States and Canada and 12 international affiliates abroad. Last year, 25 million people benefited from Goodwill’s career services, according to the press release.
For more information about Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia, call 856-439-0200 or visit www.goodwillnj.org