FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Goodwill® to Open GW Specialty Store on New Campus
Outlet store rebranded Second Editions also moves to Goodwill Opportunity Campus
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (June 7, 2016) – Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont announced today the opening of GW, a specialty store on the nonprofit’s new Goodwill Opportunity Campus in west Charlotte. First introduced as a pop-up concept store at the EpiCentre in late 2015, GW now has a permanent location on the new campus in the Leon Levine Opportunity Center, located at 5301 Wilkinson Boulevard near Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The public is invited to come enjoy grand opening festivities for the new store, as well as the rebranded and relocated outlet store, tomorrow morning (Wednesday, June 8) from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the Goodwill Opportunity Campus.
GW is a social, engaging, experiential, chic new store for Goodwill. The specialty store offers affordable designer and brand name women’s and men’s apparel, jewelry, shoes, accessories and home décor stylized for shoppers. The product offering is tailored to women who are trendy, fashionable and young at heart, with store design and layout resembling that of specialty stores of the moment with color blocking, style stories and pairings, and a variety of home décor items. The pop-up concept store opened for one week in uptown Charlotte in December 2015, in partnership with Charlotte Center City Partners and the EpiCentre.
“We were delighted to see the excitement for GW from the community last year,” said Barbara Maida-Stolle, executive vice president of business enterprises at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont. “Because of that embrace, we’re now thrilled to open a permanent GW location at the Goodwill Opportunity Campus, right next to our outlet store Second Editions.”
In addition to GW, Goodwill has also rebranded and relocated its outlet store. Formerly known as the Goodwill Outlet or Freedom Drive Outlet, “Second Editions: A Goodwill Outlet Store” now resides permanently next door to GW in the Leon Levine Opportunity Center. The rename is a historical nod to one of the early Goodwill retail stores in the region in the 1970s – “Second Editions” – to bring a piece of the nonprofit’s past to its future at the Goodwill Opportunity Campus. Second Editions also demonstrates Goodwill’s stewardship at its highest level, ensuring that donations given to the nonprofit do not go to waste. Merchandise at the outlet store is deeply discounted and clothing is sold by the pound, giving shoppers the opportunity to be environmentally responsible by reusing items and preventing them from ending up in local landfills.
The grand opening festivities for GW and Second Editions tomorrow morning are an opportunity for the community to be among the first to check out the new retail stores and visit the Goodwill Opportunity Campus, while shopping great deals at low prices. Guests at the grand opening may enjoy a one-day-only candy bar filled with retro favorites at GW, while the first 500 guests will receive a free environmentally-friendly reusable tote bag at Second Editions.
The introduction of GW marks Goodwill’s twenty-fourth retail store in the region, which includes thirteen counties in North Carolina and five counties in South Carolina. The retail stores at the Goodwill Opportunity Campus will employ 35 team members – creating eight new jobs in west Charlotte’s Wilkinson Boulevard corridor, and will generate approximately $900,000 in wages and benefits paid per year.
Store hours at GW and Second Editions are as follows:
- Monday – Saturday: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
- Sunday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Goodwill’s mission is to provide job training and employment services to individuals with barriers to employment such as lack of skills, experience or education and criminal backgrounds. These services are provided free of charge to individuals thanks to material and financial donations from the community, and purchases made at Goodwill retail stores in the region.
Opening for client services on Thursday, June 30, the Goodwill Opportunity Campus is a game-changer for job training, job placement and job creation in the region. Featuring the 160,000-square-foot Leon Levine Opportunity Center, the campus will bring together community partner agencies on-site to provide wraparound services for clients under one roof, including Charlotte Metro Credit Union, Charlotte Community Health Clinic, Common Wealth Charlotte and The Center for Community Transitions. By addressing client barriers in healthcare, banking, financial literacy and transitional support services for individuals with criminal backgrounds, Goodwill and its partner agencies will work together to help clients achieve stability and eventually gain a level of self-sufficiency to achieve family sustaining employment.
Proceeds from the sale of donations in Goodwill retail stores fund job training and employment services free of charge for unemployed and underemployed individuals as they upgrade their skills to enter the competitive workforce. Each week, 230 people access Goodwill’s employment and basic needs resources. In 2015, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont provided employment services to 12,000 individuals and placed 1,500 job seekers in local jobs. For more information about Goodwill, visit www.goodwillsp.org.
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About Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont
Goodwill has been serving individuals and families in the Southern Piedmont region of North and South Carolina for more than 50 years. Goodwill operates 24 retail stores and has more than 45 donation sites in the region. Proceeds from the sale of donated goods fund job training and employment services for individuals facing barriers to employment such as lack of skills, experience or education and criminal backgrounds. In 2015, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont provided employment services to 12,000 individuals and placed 1,500 job seekers in local jobs thanks to donations and purchases from the community. For more information, visit www.goodwillsp.org.
Media Contacts
Molly Thompson | PR & Social Media Manager | Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont | Phone: (704) 332-0262 | Email: molly.thompson@goodwillsp.org
Melinda Wilshire | Director, Marketing & Communications | Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont | Phone: (704) 916-1616 | Email: melinda.wilshire@goodwillsp.org
Facebook.com/GoodwillSP | Twitter: @GoodwillSP | Instagram: @GoodwillSP
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