Do you ever think about what happens to your donations after dropping them off by car scheduled home pick-up?  The clear double-doors of the donation drop-off room, with its creamy walls and rolling wire bins are all most of us can see of the Charleston, West Virginia Goodwill donation process; but, this week I was granted a rare tour.

Those tall wire bins are wheeled to the processing area of the plant, and the magic begins.  Donations are separated into a variety of categories including household goods, furniture, toys, clothing and electronics.  There are sorting stations dedicated to each category with waist-high tables, hanging bars, built-in bagging areas for clothing and teams of smiling faces behind them.  Your donations are thoroughly inspected to be sure every appliance is in working order and every pair of pants’ zipper and closures are perfect. Visit the donation acceptance guidlines for more information before you donate.

So, what happens to the items that don’t make the grade? 

• Some small electrical appliances have to be thrown away or are recycled if possible.  Computer monitors, hard drives and other computer equipment are bundled onto large pallets to be picked up by Dell as part of the Dell Reconnect© program.  http://reconnectpartnership.com/   The program salvages as much of the precious metals and other parts as possible, then shreds and recycles the rest to protect our environment.  
• Clothing that has bad zippers, staining, and holes are sold for re-use.  T-shirts have their elastic cut off from the neck and arms for use as cleaning cloths.  Then, they are placed in large bags to be purchased by local cleaning companies and car washes.  Other clothing goes into a bailer and stacked in the warehouse to be sold to a textile recycling company.  This company sends some of the wearable items to war-torn countries to provide relief in the form of clothing.  The rest is processed into usable items such as sound-proofing for automobiles. 

Goodwill has another somewhat hidden part of their organization that benefits our community in ways not many organizations can.  According to their website, “Goodwill Industries of Kanawha Valley has served thousands of people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. Our staff and Board of Directors have committed to assisting those with disabilities or those who are otherwise vocationally disadvantaged to achieve full participation and integration into society.”

Read my next article for more, "Behind the Scenes."