Donated Goods Retail, Moving Forward in 2018: By Chris Oleski

     The Donated Goods Retail team is excited about the possibilities that 2018 brings!  Despite the weather, we ended 2017 on a positive note and hope to continue that momentum into 2018. Our stores are well staffed, and our management teams have never been stronger. We continue to look for efficiencies in our processes and have developed new reporting and analytical tools for 2018 that should give us a narrower focus on where our opportunities lie.
     The end of 2017 saw the expansion of new goods assortments in our stores, continuing into 2018. In addition to the winter hats, gloves, and thermal socks, look for a new line of undergarments for men, women, and boys as well as leggings and yoga pants for women. 
     We’ve also begun to offer a line of organic soaps and an assortment of candles in many scents. Tech items are also newly available, beginning with wireless cords and batteries. We’ve even successfully begun offering Coca-Cola products and Utz chips in our Summit Towne Center location and we will continue to look for other new goods to enhance the customer shopping experience in 2018 and beyond.
     We kicked off 2018 with our 6th annual Donate to Win campaign with our sponsors, Marybeth and Todd Nassief from Nassief Auto Family. This is a very exciting time for our customers and donors, as someone will have the opportunity to drive off in a brand new 2018 Toyota Corolla in May of this year! We treasure the partnership we have with Nassief Auto Family and are so grateful for this program that helps us maintain donations in this usually slow donating period.
     Here’s to a successful 2018 in our Donated Goods Retail department! We wish everyone a very happy and healthy year!