Truck donated by Art Van Furniture will drive Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit retail job creation plans

7/13/2010

26-foot truck will collect and transport items donated to Goodwill
flagship retail location coming to Canton in October 2010

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit today announced Art Van Furniture has donated a 26-foot truck to help the nonprofit organization open its flagship upscale retail store in Canton, Mich. Scheduled to open in October 2010, the 17,000 square-foot store located at 41905 Ford Road will be the first retail location operated by Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit in Southeast Michigan since 2000.

Branded with Goodwill “Donate for Jobs” messaging, the truck donated by Art Van, Michigan’s largest furniture retailer, will enable Goodwill to collect and transport goods donated from across Metro Detroit. The goods will later be sold at the Canton flagship retail location to support Goodwill’s efforts to help Metro Detroiters overcome employment challenges and become “Trained, Trusted and Ready to Work.” Madison Heights, Mich.-based 11 Mile Truck Frame & Axle donated initial truck maintenance and painting services.

Art Van recently opened an Art Van Pure Sleep freestanding bedding store in Canton next to the Goodwill flagship retail store.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit expects its flagship store to generate approximately $1 million in revenue in the first year. Proceeds from the store will fund local Goodwill employment training, education and support programs. Featuring upscale boutique clothing and other donated goods, the store will be modeled after the nation’s two most successful Goodwill retail locations in Indianapolis and Portland, Ore.

“Leading the way in the fight against Metro Detroit unemployment means not just training local people for jobs, but building businesses that will create those jobs for the Detroit area,” said President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit Lorna G. Utley. “Art Van’s donation will be critical to our success as we grow our Southeast Michigan retail presence to drive local job creation and fund Goodwill employment training and education programs.”

Initially, the Canton store will create 23 jobs for Southeast Michigan. Goodwill intends to look at recent graduates of its local career training and education programs to fill a majority of these positions.  The store also will create training opportunities allowing participants in Goodwill programs to gain real-world experience as they work to earn permanent positions.

Goodwill already has begun the search for a professional store manager and two experienced assistant managers. Individuals interested in applying for jobs at the Goodwill Canton retail store should click the “Jobs at Goodwill” link at http://www.goodwillldetroit.org/.

“As a Michigan business, Art Van Furniture is committed to supporting nonprofit organizations working to improve the quality of life for people throughout Metro Detroit,” said Dan Baran, Art Van Furniture Vice President, Information Systems, Logistics, and Operations. “Goodwill is accomplishing some amazing things for the unemployed of this region. We hope the truck we’ve donated to the new retail effort will prove valuable in this ongoing effort.”

Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit expects to open one to two new retail locations in Metro Detroit in each of the coming years. Director of Donated Goods Jeff Ukrainec will oversee this development as well as operations at the store.

Upon closing its last remaining Metro Detroit retail store around 2000, Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit became one of the only Goodwill organizations worldwide to focus on non-retail opportunities to fund employment education and training programs for area individuals in need of jobs.

In addition to support from Art Van, generous support for the Canton store opening came from a number of other community partners:

• The Junior Group of Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit, a volunteer auxiliary group existing to support the organization, provided the seed money that enabled the project.
• Madison Heights, Mich.-based 11 Mile Truck Frame & Axle donated initial truck maintenance and painting services.
• Rogers, Minn.-based Archway Marketing Services donated warehouse space for the storage of donated goods prior to the store opening.
• Detroit-based International Trading Solutions donated additional logistical support.
• Thousands of pounds of clothing and textiles to be sold in the Canton store were donated through a partnership with area Bon-Ton Parisian and Elder-Beerman stores.

Goodwill Industries is the only organization in Southeast Michigan solely dedicated to helping local individuals overcome challenges and secure employment. In just the past two years of the organization’s nearly 90-year history, Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit has placed more than 2,000 Wayne, Oakland and Macomb county individuals into new jobs and provided education, training and career assistance to thousands more in the region.

Until the Canton store opens, individuals wishing to donate new or gently used clothing or other items may drop them off at the organization’s Detroit headquarters (3111 Grand River) or call (313) 964-3900 for more information.

To connect with Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit on Facebook, visit http://www.facebook.com/GoodwillDetroit. To follow the organization on Twitter, visit http://www.twitter.com/GoodwillDet.