Goodwill in Rock Hill ready for last-minute donations

It’s not too late to make charitable donations for the 2015 tax year.

Goodwill of Rock Hill has extended hours Thursday to accept donations. Shopping will also be open late.

The Goodwill Store, near the intersection of Mount Gallant and Celanese roads, opens 30 minutes earlier Thursday. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the store will be open on Friday, also from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Depending on the weather, Chauncey Martin, manager of the Rock Hill Goodwill store, expects Thursday to be the busiest day yet for donations.

“It’s out with the old and in with the new,” Martin said.

Typically, Goodwill sees a 75 percent increase in donor visits in the week leading up to the New Year.

“We get a little mix of everything,” Martin said of the donations. Some items are donated because a person got a new version for Christmas. Other donations come when people clean their closets but procrastinate on dropping things off.

The donations are sorted to remove damaged items. They are then priced and put out for sale. “The result is you usually will see the same thing twice,” Martin said. The inventory differs from store to store. The Rock Hill store usually has more men’s clothing than other Goodwill locations. There are also a number of youth bikes for sale.

To deal with last-minute donors, Martin has added staff. Their goal is to remove items from a vehicle in a minute or less. That usually happens when the donor doesn’t need to have the boxes or bins returned, Martin said. Goodwill will provide a receipt for tax purposes but it’s up to the donor to have a list of what was donated.

The busiest time for donations is between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., Martin said.

Goodwill accepts donations of clothing, accessories, household items, books, toys, electronics, furniture and small appliances. Proceeds from the sale of donations in Goodwill retail stores fund job training and employment services free of charge.

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Goodwill in Rock Hill ready for last-minute donations."