VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Certain Goodwill retail stores in Hampton Roads are now open for business.
This is after an eight week hiatus to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Laura Faison, the director of marketing and communications for central and coastal Goodwill branches, said the time away has allowed the business to focus on the safety of their staff and customers.
“We’re opening four to five stores a day over the next several weeks, so Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays we’re introducing new stores that will be open," said Faison. "This lets our associates come back, get comfortable in the workplace, helps us avoid large crowds and really kind of manage what the expectations of both our shoppers and our associates are."
When people choose to donate to Goodwill, they now have two options: either to take advantage of curbside assistance, where they don't have to leave their vehicles, or drop items in designated donation bins.
Goodwill retail stores will be operating at 40% capacity and staff members must also wear face coverings and gloves.
Clear plastic shields were installed at all Goodwill registers so associates will not have to come into close contact with shoppers as they check out.
They’ve also upped their cleaning routine, making sure to clean stores every couple of hours. The dressing rooms are closed for the time being.
For those wondering about how safe it is right now to buy previously owned or used items, Faison ensured all items have been properly processed, sanitized and quarantined.
“A lot of the stuff has been quarantined for far beyond 72 hours now," she said, "So there is less of a concern of any type of contamination from those donations that we may have received in the past several weeks."
Certain Goodwill retail locations will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, including stores in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Hampton.