Goodwill prepares for July 21 grand opening in South Lake Tahoe

Pier 1 is out of their location in South Lake Tahoe, and Goodwill Industries is heading in now that escrow has closed on the building at 1069 Emerald Bay Road. Goodwill will be celebrating the opening their 27th Northern Nevada/Sacramento area location with a four-day grand opening starting July 21 at 8:00 a.m.

Karen McClaflin, the Chief Development Officer for Goodwill Sacramento Valley & Northern Nevada, told South Tahoe Now that that the company has been actively engaged for the past seven years looking for a store and community training center in the Tahoe Basin.

The community oriented company will have 25 people working in the 10,795 square foot building that boasts 8,000 feet of retail space.

"Goodwill always supports the local charities in the communities we serve, including food banks, homeless shelters, and other support agencies with similar missions to help people with disadvantages achieve self-sufficiency," said McClaflin. "We will continue that tradition in SLT by reinvesting store profits back into the community through our own mission related payroll, workforce development component as well as outside support."

The SLT store is a “learning store” so by design it will respond to the local population’s requests for specific product with options to purchase equipment, costumes, clothing and other necessities at a price point that offers a value proposition to residents and visitors. For locals, it will offer job opportunities at the store, job training for other vocations in the area, along with great shopping options for all the day-to-day necessities.

“Goodwill’s mission expansion into South Lake Tahoe is consistent with its strategic plan to offer human services to the disadvantaged in the territory it serves,” states Joseph Mendez, President and CEO. “The need in the greater Tahoe area is represented by people with disabilities and disadvantages who are attempting to achieve self-sufficiency.”

The South Lake Tahoe store will offer a new membership opportunity for shoppers called the “Season Pass” (www.goodwillsacto.org/seasonpass) which will provide subscribers with regular updates on upcoming sales, exclusive VIP invites to special events and early access to new seasonal merchandise.

Besides being a bargain-hunter’s paradise, the store will offer a convenient donation drop-off to give area residents another place to easily donate items they no longer need; contributing to a greener community while supporting Goodwill’s services to thousands of people living in the region.

During the grand opening, the first 200 customers will receive free Goodwill recyclable tote bags, free coffee and cookies, and all shoppers will have the chance to enter a drawing to win a flat screen TV.

Regular store hours will be Mon-Sat 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., Sun 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.