Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc., has reopened most of its resale stores and donation centers, the nonprofit announced Friday morning, with modified hours, social distancing and mask rules and plexiglass barriers installed at checkouts.
Modified state rules this week allow for retail stores to open with a limited number of customers.
The stores and donation sites open daily from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. The early closing time will allow employees to clean and sanitize the facilities.
Goodwill will limit the number of shoppers allowed in each store based on ordinances and orders in effect in its own municipality.
All customers and employees must wear face masks at all times while in the store. Goodwill is providing masks to all employees, who will also be screened daily upon reporting to work, including having their temperatures taken.
Six-foot social distancing guidelines must be followed and the stores will have floor markings to serve as reminders and guides.
Only alternating cash registers and fitting rooms will be open to help facilitate distancing.
Plexiglass sneeze guards have been installed at checkouts.
As for donations, Goodwill employees will follow a no-contact process at the drive-up drop-offs. Goodwill asks that everything be in a bag or a box. Please no loose items.
The items donated will be kept in storage for a minimum of 72 hours before employees will begin to process them for sale to the public.
"We are taking additional safety precautions because the safety of our employees, their families, the people we serve, our customers, and community, are always our top priority," said Jackie Hallberg, president and Chief Executive Officer of Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, Inc., in a statement Friday.
"As we work to safely reopen our retail store and donation center locations, we look forward to continuing to do what we do best – serving our customers and providing training, employment and supportive services for our community."
For more information on safety precautions, updates to hours based on local and state rules and more, visit amazinggoodwill.com.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
