Goodwill of Greater Washington accepting donations again after temporary halt

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - The pandemic has led to an unprecedented situation for Goodwill of Greater Washington – donation centers are literally running out of space.

“I’ve been at Goodwill since 2003 and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Chief Marketing Officer Brendan Hurley said Thursday.

But after the nonprofit briefly stopped taking donations altogether – as FOX 5 reported back in June – they’re now taking donations again, just on a limited basis. Donors are asked to come by during a daily three-hour window, and they’re also asked not to bring any large items, like furniture or exercise equipment.

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“At Goodwill, we don’t want to turn away a single donor,” Hurley explained. “If we’re turning some kind of a donation away, it’s not because we want to, it is because we simply have to.”

On Thursday, one donation center in Northeast DC took in 141 donations, which staff members said was a lot. Not to mention, they did have to turn at least one would-be donor away. Anthony Forte showed up with a pick-up truck full of what he said were extra-extra-extra-large shirts.

“In the last seven months I lost close to 69 pounds,” he told Fox 5, before promising he’d be back. “If you don’t take me here, I’m gonna go to Arlington, I’m going to Fairfax. Look, as an old man I have nothing but time,” he laughed.

Goodwill’s donation centers are now open from 10 am to 1 pm seven days a week.