The new Goodwill Store in the Geneseo Town Plaza will celebrate a grand opening this weekend; its management hopes to bring great deals and a stronger sense of community to the town.
The storefront boasts a community center with programs for youths, senior citizens and foster families. The store and community center are part of a chain operated by the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired-Goodwill Industries of Greater Rochester, Inc. The organization serves the Finger Lakes, central and northern regions of New York state.
“The community center allows us to be part of the community, not just be in the community,” said ABVI-Goodwill PR Manager Todd Pipitone. “It will be a very vibrant community space.” Interested community-focused organizations are also welcome to use the space.
According to Pipitone, empowering people to contribute to their communities is a key aspect of ABVI-Goodwill’s mission, and the new store and community center will bring this mission to Geneseo in a new way.
Within the store, Pipitone said shoppers “can find great deals and new and upcycled [donated] clothing, books, electronics and a multitude of other items.” On Tuesdays, students will receive a 15 percent discount with a valid student ID. The organization says that partial revenue from all purchases will go toward programs to support the vision-impaired in gaining independence and self-sufficiency.
ABVI-Goodwill plans to showcase the new store with a series of grand opening events this weekend. Thursday evening is College Night from 7 - 9 p.m. The first 50 students to attend will receive a $10 Goodwill gift card, and all students will get a 15 percent discount. An iPad and iPod shuffle will be raffled off, and Megan Carter, local disc jockey from Rochester-area radio station 98 PXY, will be providing music. This event will be followed by Youth Night on Friday and a grand opening event all day Saturday.
The organization hopes that its presence in Geneseo will be broader in scope than that of a typical store. “By shopping at Goodwill, people can feel good about the fact that they are helping their community,” read an ABVI-Goodwill press release.