Locals get a sneak peek at new Goodwill store

Amanda Dengler browses through books at the new Goodwill Store in Gallup's Zecca Plaza Wednesday afternoon during a "sneak peek" of the store. The store opened today at 9 a.m. [Photo by Daniel Zollinger/Independent]

By Gaye Brown de Alvarez
Staff Write

GALLUP — City officials and curious onlookers were at the new Goodwill Store at the east end of Zecca Plaza Wednesday night for a sneak peek at the items for sale.

The racks and shelves were packed with used items for sale, and the new store opened this morning at 9 a.m. Store hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Marketing director Maria Prindle from the Albuquerque Goodwill Industries of New Mexico is on hand throughout the weekend for the opening of the new store.

And yes, the items for sale were brought in from Albuquerque, and they will continue to supplement the stock of the store with Albuquerque donations.

"Goodwill Stores are a means to an end," Prindle said in an interview Wednesday. "Eighty-four to 90 cents of each dollar goes to programs to provide skills to help people obtain work."

She said this was the first time Goodwill Industries had a presence in Gallup. Goodwill is a leading non-profit provider of training and career services for people with disabilities, welfare recipients and other job seekers.

"You have excellent charities in Gallup, but the difference is, we don't give the money away, it goes to our programs." She explained how the Goodwill Industries International, Inc., Workforce Development program provided training for people to obtain workforce skills. Sometimes the store becomes a "classroom" with people learning to run a cash register, do math, and work with people. Sometimes, Prindle said, people need to build up their resume with some work experience.

"We teach 'soft skills' also," Prindle said, "such as how to get up on time, how to bathe, count, etc." She told the story of how Goodwill assisted a police officer who had been in an auto accident and had to relearn a different trade. "It becomes a benefit to the community."

She explained how Goodwill was not really a place for needy families to shop. She pulled a Ralph Lauren shirt off the rack. "We hope people will get higher-quality items." Some samples of pricing includes men's and women's jeans for $6.79, long coats for $10.59, shoes $4.19 and men's two-piece suits for $21.49. There was also a rack of prom dresses, a furniture department with a beautiful rattan coffee table for $24.99 and plenty of baby clothes. Everything was clean and in good shape.

Prindle explained how Goodwill likes to sell "gently-used items." Items that are donated are looked over by a processor, she explained. They are then sorted for either sale on a rack or bundling to be sent to Third World countries.

Goodwill Industries was founded in 1902 in Boston by Rev. Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister. Today, Goodwill is a $2.4 billion international network of 207 independent community-based non-profit organizations in the U.S., Canada and 22 other countries, according to their Web site.

The store manager is Gallup native Mike Kuwamoto and there are 16 paid employees.