Tulsa Goodwill Needs You - To Clean Out Your Closet

By Craig Day, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- Goodwill Industries helps people with affordable clothing and household items and helps with job training for people with disabilities. Donations are way down, and the organization needs help.

It's not just the poor economy that's to blame, but also poor weather.

At the Goodwill Industries retail stores, there are bargains to be found on every rack. From bargains for little ones to a little bit older ones.

But the selection is suffering.

"We're in trouble," said Nancy Webster, Goodwill Industries of Tulsa.With the winter storms coming one after the other, no one wanted to get out on the slick streets to drop off donations."Donations are significantly down," Webster said - a 13% drop on average at Goodwill Industries' 22 donation sites.

"We can't keep our stores full, and the stores then can't comply with the shoppers needs," Webster said.

What's worse, Goodwill depends on money brought in through the re-sale of donated items to fund its job training program. It helped 1,200 people last year, people with barriers to employment and disabilities.

Plus, if there aren't many donated items to sort, Goodwill workers don't get their hours.

"We need everyone to clean out their closets and bring us their gently used clothing and household items, so we can keep our stores full, and keep people employed," said Goodwill's Nancy Webster.

So if you have clothes you no longer wear or need – drop them off at Goodwill, and make sure you do it before the weather gets bad again

All of the Goodwill locations take donations seven days a week.

See list of Goodwill donation centers and hours.