Available in both the Apple iTunes store or the Google Play store, the free app will allow users to find their nearest Goodwill location throughout the United States and Canada.

So no matter where you are or where you go, you’ll always be able to find quality merchandise at low prices while supporting Goodwill’s mission!

• Download from the Apple iTunes store (for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices)
• Download from the Google Play store

(for Android devices)

1. Take a photo of something you’ve seen or purchased at Reserve: Goodwill in the Market. Purchase is not necessary to win.
2. Post it on your Instagram feed, tagging us with @goodwillomaha and with hashtag #reservecontest.

That’s it! We’ll take all the entries at the end of the month and draw a winner, who will receive a $50 Goodwill gift card.

Have fun and good luck!

Gretna officials, community members and Goodwill representatives gathered last Thursday for the groundbreaking ceremony of what will be Goodwill Omaha’s 16th retail store.

Gretna Mayor Jim Timmerman, Gretna Chamber of Commerce President Brad Stauffer, Vice Chairman of the Goodwill Board of Trustees Mark Brasee and Goodwill President & CEO Frank McGree spoke at the ceremony, each speaking of the benefits that will come to Gretna this fall — in terms of the retail experience for shoppers, sales tax revenue generation for the city and expansion of the Goodwill mission for the community.

Chief Operating Officer Randy Parks said that Goodwill has had its eyes on expanding to Gretna for several years.

“Gretna is one of the fastest — if not the fastest — growing communities in the state,” he said. “We just feel it’s one of those gaps in the territory where we can make a difference, both through generating revenue and helping the community.”

The building itself — located at 11722 Standing Stone Drive — will be constructed in a similar fashion to the Blair store, which opened in August 2012. While Goodwill isn’t pursuing LEED certification for this building, as it did for Blair, the store will still be built with an eye toward sustainability.

Gretna Mayor Jim Timmerman addresses the crowd at the groundbreaking ceremony.

The process of opening new stores has been refined in recent years, said Retail Sales Director Shannon McGree.

“The retail team gets better and better as the stores keep coming,” she said. While they make minor changes in the process based on the experience at the previous store, the system is essentially the same.

The first thing they do is prepare goods for the store. Each of the existing stores produces a predetermined number of softline pieces per week, which are sent back to the Retail Operations Center, where they are broken down by category.

Around the same time, managers from the other stores come to the ROC to produce and price hardline goods.

After production begins, other items like racks, cages and hanger stations are ordered.

The hiring process will begin in August, starting with the manager. Retail plans on hiring 25 to 30 employees for the new store, with a special focus on hiring people from the Gretna area.

McGree said that staffing the store with locals not only creates jobs for Gretna, but when community members come into the store to shop, they’ll see faces they recognize.

“That way our customers can more easily buy into our mission,” she said.

While details are not finalized for Employment and Training services at the store, the building will include a classroom for future expansion of mission services.

“Our hope is to have Work Experience there,” said Holly Schwietz, Work Experience coordinator. She has been working with Gretna Public Schools and Springfield-Platteview to explore the possibility of bringing the program to Gretna.

Beyond Work Experience, Vice President of Employment and Training Linda Kizzier said READY may also have a presence in the building. While there wouldn’t be a dedicated staff person, there would be information posted about READY services.

Interested people could call for help and make appointments at Benson Park, and READY Specialist Sandy Ferrucci could host occasional workshops at the Gretna store.

District Manager Janelle Ellis, who will oversee the store as part of her territory, lives in Gretna, and she has already seen the anticipation build.

“I know just from Facebook that the community is really excited,” she said. “I’ve shared things that [Media Relations Coordinator] Kris Pachunka has posted, and a lot of people from town are sharing them and posting themselves. Gretna is super excited for Goodwill to come in. I’ve heard all positives.”

The last step is to fill the store with product, which takes place in the final days before opening and requires a lot of hands.

“We couldn’t do all of this without the store managers,” McGree said. “They’re providing the product, and they’re coming in and filling it too.

“It’s great teamwork and we couldn’t do it without them.”

Volunteers collect computer donations at last year's Drive for Drives

It happens every year about this time. The snow starts to melt, the sun comes out, and people start donating to Goodwill again. Not that people don’t donate in January and February, but March and April bring spring cleaning.

Spring cleaning means de-cluttering and de-cluttering makes for donating to Goodwill. It’s like a the life cycle of a butterfly without the cocoon. Or butterfly.

But the important thing is that donations will be flowing once again as we close out March. Here is a list of all the donation drives we’ve lined up so far:

The Good Turn for Goodwill
April 13-21
Girl Scouts from across the Metro collect donations for Goodwill and bring them to our stores. This drive has been taking place for 28 years! It’s a great opportunity to partner with the Girl Scouts, and help build donations at the same time. There are even prizes for the scouts that donate the most!

College of St Mary’s Computer Drive
April 18
College of St. Mary is holding a campus computer drive for recycling E-waste.

Drive for Drives
April 27
Our semiannual computer recycling drive, the Drive for Drives, is a partnership with Rotary Club of Omaha West and channel WOWT. Last year we collected about 100,000 pounds of E-waste through these drives.

Campus Move-Out
April 27 – May 19
Goodwill is partnering with Creighton University and Keep America Beautiful in a drive focused on Creighton students as they leave the dorms at the end of their school year. This is a pilot program between Goodwill and Keep America Beautiful. We are one of only five Goodwills selected to participate.

Yes, it’s a fine time to be alive. The grass is turning green, the birds are out, and people are bringing their used items to Goodwill.

The Coffee House calendar for the month of April is out, and we have several new menu items and specials to draw to your attention:

• Mocha Mondays: Add chocolate to any of your drinks for free
• Each Wednesday this month: Enjoy a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant for only $4.49
• Each Friday this month: Try our BBQ pulled pork sandwich on a pretzel bun for $4.99
• Frozen Fridays: Get a large drink for the price of a medium
• Also new in April: all sandwiches come with a pickle spear, and you can upgrade your bread to a pretzel bun for only $1 more

Come visit us at the Goodwill Coffee House, inside the Benson Park Plaza store at 72nd & Ames!

I’m eating My plan was to eat at the new Goodwill Coffee House every day this week for breakfast and lunch. To read the first installment, click here and to read part two, click here.

Well it turns out my eyes are a little bigger than my blog, or maybe my editorial calendar is a little bigger than my tummy, but when I staked out this quest, I neglected to consider things like “offsite lunch meetings.” As a result, I wasn’t able to keep up with eating breakfast and lunch at the Coffee House every day. But I do have some more updates!

I stuck with my word and had a bagel sandwich Wednesday morning. And you may notice in the photo above that I’ve once again gone with ham, egg and cheese. But here’s the thing — I had the bagel toasted, but I wanted to keep the ham and cheese cold. So even though it’s structurally very similar to Monday’s breakfast, the experience was much different. And I really liked this! The combo of the warm bagel with the cold innards was something I really enjoyed and that I’m honestly probably going to stick with as a result of this experiment.

So then I had an offsite lunch meeting Wednesday, was offsite Thursday morning, we had a groundbreaking for our new store in Gretna on Thursday afternoon (coming soon to the blog!) and before you know it, it’s Friday morning.

It’s the last Friday in Lent, so I decided to use that opportunity to abstain from the meat and enjoy a simple plain bagel with cream cheese, which you can see above on the right. Now what you can also see above on the right is that I’m really bad at spreading cream cheese, so I decided to take this photo before I defaced this otherwise innocent bagel even further.

One thing I’ve neglected to mention is that the menu for the Coffee House is online — you can view it by clicking here (PDF). And another thing that we’re excited to announce is that throughout the month of April, we’ll be offering specials on various menu items. For example, each Wednesday in April, we’ll have a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant; on Fridays, we’ll have BBQ pulled pork sandwiches on a pretzel bun. Keep an eye here on the blog for more updates on specials.

And stop by The Coffee House! We’re open seven days a week until 4pm at the Benson Park Plaza store at 72nd & Ames! Just like at our stores, your purchases at the Coffee House support our employment and training programs.

I decided to evolve incrementally on my breakfast selection today. Instead of ham, egg and cheese on a croissant, I went with bacon, egg and cheese.

As much as I do love my normal H-E-C combo, I do like the crispiness of the bacon strips. Even if the plant and animal kingdoms won’t notice the difference, it was just enough that I could over here on my end of the food chain.

At lunch, I went with the “I’m five years old” special and got some ham and cheese on white bread. There is something very comforting to me about a nice, cool ham, cheese, lettuce and tomato sandwich on white bread. Toss in a pop and a bag of Doritos (note to readers: I did that!), and I’m ready to throw this down, hop on my bike and go to the pool (note to boss: I didn’t do that!).

I know I said it yesterday, but tomorrow morning, I really want to try a bagel sandwich for breakfast.

I can tell you that I’ve already staked out my favorites: the ham, egg & cheese croissant for breakfast and the turkey sandwich for lunch. But thanks to the variety on the menu, the daily specials and Coffee House Ellie’s promise to help me figure out some creative combinations, I’m going to have something different each time I eat there this week. And — this is where it gets relevant to you — I’m going to share those selections with you here on the blog each day.

I decided that Day 1 would include a celebration of those aforementioned favorites, so I had the ham, egg & cheese croissant for breakfast with a carton of orange juice.

What I like about this sandwich is that it’s a warm, tasty way to start my day. After they’ve finished building your sandwich right before your eyes, they’ll heat it if you’d like. I always say yes to the heating, because it makes me feel nice and cozy in these relentless winter mornings. And then I usually get a pop or some other cold drink and totally disrupt that, because caffeine. But then each bite of the sandwich takes me back under that blanket.

Anyway, I’m excited to try other breakfast options, though I’m a little frightened for my ham, egg & cheese croissant that it’ll be dethroned as my favorite. On to lunch!

I got a turkey sandwich combo meal with the soft drink (Diet Coke with no ice) and chips!

And let me tell you — just like the top of my sandwich, I was impressed! I mentioned I was starting out with my favorites, and there’s a good reason these are. There are five different bread options, so I suppose I’ll try a different one each day, but I like how this was warm on the outside and stayed cool and crisp on the inside. I like to get my turkey sandwich with provolone, mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce and tomato.

So Day 1 is in the books. I’m thinking I might have a bagel for breakfast tomorrow.

The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m.

Gretna Mayor Jim Timmerman and Brad Stauffer, President, Gretna Chamber, along with Goodwill leadership will be in attendance.

The Goodwill retail/donation/training facility will be designed by RDG Schutte Wilscam Birge and constructed by the Kiewit Building Group. The Gretna location will measure 15,500 sq. ft. and will house a retail store, production room, donation drop-off door and an employment & training room. Construction is scheduled for completion by fall 2013 and will be Goodwill’s 16th such facility, with others located throughout eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

“The property purchased in Gretna fits the needs of Goodwill and the communities we serve,” says Randy Parks, Goodwill’s Chief Operating Officer. “This location will provide a quality shopping and donating experience, while at the same time, allow for opportunities to expand Goodwill’s training programs for people who want to work.”

With the development of the Gretna facility, Goodwill will create 30 new job opportunities.

The winning designers pose with event hosts Mulberry Lane

The second annual Style Proud! event was held Thursday at UNO. Nearly 200 students from Omaha and Millard Public Schools packed the room for a runway show complete with repurposed clothes purchased from Goodwill’s Benson Park Plaza store at 72nd and Ames Avenue.

Style Proud! is a unique event that gives young, aspiring fashion stars the chance to design their own clothes. A group of 30 students came to Goodwill in January and picked out pieces to serve as the base of their outfits. After months of work, the fashions were ready to be displayed.

Models walked the runway in the outfits designed by Omaha North High students, and a panel of judges — including 16 year-old designer Kate Walz and Omaha Fashion Week founder Nick Hudson — watched intently. Musical group Mulberry Lane emceed and treated the crowd to an acapella version of Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop.”

At the event, Goodwill showed what $30 or less could buy you at some of our stores. Dresses, skirts, and shoes were the envy of event attendees. We raffled off a $50 Goodwill gift card to one lucky attendee, who would be able to purchase two full stylish outfits with her winnings. All exhibitors spoke with the students and gave advice about potential careers in fashion.

The crowd cheered as the styled models walked the catwalk. While there were only three winners, all of the students shined bright as their own signature dresses, pants, jackets, and shirts walked down the runway. Congrats to all!