21 AZ Goodwill Stores Reopen As 'Essential Businesses'

PHOENIX, AZ — A $2 million infusion of state funds is helping reopen the doors of 21 Phoenix-area Goodwill stores today, putting some 400 employees back to work in what is now considered an "essential business" under the new coronavirus guidelines issued last week by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.

In a Facebook video posted Saturday that announced the reopenings, Tim O’Neal, president and CEO of Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona, noted that the governor's March 30 stay-at-home order caused the company to both close its 91 retail locations and to undertake "the incredibly difficult decision to part ways with 2,500" employees

Goodwill operates retail locations, job training centers and donation sites -- creating a web of services that Governor Ducey described as "a beacon of hope for countless Arizonans across our state" in an April 7 press release announcing the $2 million funding bump.

The $2 million in funds is a chunk of the $50 million in emergency coronavirus funding approved last month by the state legislature.

In the Facebook video, Goodwill's O'Neal said that the governor's shutdown order did have some upside: It allowed the company to undertake a "deep thorough cleaning of all locations." The retail locations now feature plexiglass at all registers, and all donated items are treated with a sanitizing spray before they enter the store.

All donation sites remain open and operating by curbside pickup, while retail stores are running on reduced hours, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For an up-to-date list of operating retail store locations, donation sites, and career services, check out Goodwill Arizona's coronavirus page here.