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Jeffrey Ukrainec,
director of donated -----
goods operations

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Lynne Konstantin
Contributing Writer

G

oodwill Industries has been revital-
ized locally, opening a classy new
store in Oakland County.
We know that Goodwill Industries of
Greater Detroit is all about being ... good. Its
mission statement has not changed since its
founding in 1921 by Rev. Dr. John E. Martin,
a Berkley pastor: "We put people with
employment challenges to work:'
For more than 90 years, the Southeast
Michigan nonprofit has been an innovator
in creating businesses that create jobs, offer-
ing a "hand up, not a hand out" In the past
three years, Goodwill Industries, a Michigan
Works! affiliate, has helped more than 3,480
people in Wayne, Macomb and Oakland
counties find full-time competitive-wage jobs
through its employment, education, training
and support programs.
Now, Goodwill retail is getting a makeover
to make it easier and more enjoyable for
its communities to lend a hand, too. After
growing 13 retail stores in the greater Detroit
area throughout the 1980s and early '90s, the
retail division was closed in 2000 due to low
sales. But a more sustainable and visually
appealing operating model and the popular-
ity of resale boutiques has made a success
of its flagship store in Canton, the first retail
shop to open in 10 years, by creating 25 new
jobs and $800,000 in revenue in its first year.
Based on that success, the nonprofit
opened a second retail location in Dearborn
last year. And last week, on July 13, a brand-
new 15,000-square-foot store, its first in
Oakland County, celebrated its grand open-
ing in Commerce Township, on the Meijer
property.
Like the Canton and Dearborn stores,
the new Commerce location was designed
by Alyce Riemenschneider, principal and
designer at Riemenschneider Design

12 July 18 • 2013

A new Commerce Township Goodwill
retail store helps to usher in a new era of
shopping, donating and creating jobs.

Sheila Cook of Waterford stocks the shelves with candles while getting ready for the
opening of the new Goodwill.

Associates in Brighton, who donated her
services to throw out the stodgy, stuffy thrift-
shop image and usher in a modern, fresh
and eco-friendly take on resale shopping.
Expansive wood floors and high-end lighting
suspended from soaring, industrialized ceil-
ings with exposed steel beams are softened
with blown-up images of real-life success
stories.
Pleasingly packed with upscale mer-
chandise ranging from furniture and decor
to clothing and sporting goods, the new
Goodwill caters to shoppers browsing for
a treasure or wanting to outfit their kids in
clothing that looks great without breaking
the bank.

"Our demographic has shifted from those
who 'need' to those who `want:" says Jeffrey
Ukrainec, director of donated goods opera-
tions and former inventory control manager
for Ford Motor Co. "Our biggest focus with
the retail stores is to make shoppers feel
comfortable and welcome. To that end, a
covered (from rain and snow) drive-through
donation drop-off center means donors
can contribute without having to make an
appointment, leave their car or deal with an
impersonal bin.
"We want to meet each customer and
donor and let them know how much we
value them," Ukrainec says.
And a computerized tallying system

means lost tax receipts are a thing of the
past: Simply stop by during tax season for a
printout.
The real beauty of the reinvented retail
stores, however, is what they do for the
communities they are a part of. Goodwill
Industries is the only local nonprofit special-
izing in training and employment services,
and all revenues from the stores go to train-
ing people who need jobs.
At the new Commerce store alone, 25
Metro Detroit residents, including several
Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit pro-
gram graduates, have been hired to assist
customers, process donated items, stock
clothing racks and manage operations. The
store also will create training opportunities
allowing participants in Goodwill programs
to gain real-world experience as they work
to earn permanent positions at the store, or
with one of Goodwill's more than 700 part-
ner employers around Southeast Michigan,
including Ben & Jerry's Downtown
Compuware Building location, which not
only generates retail revenue but also trains
at-risk teens and young adults.
"Our goal is to open two to three stores
each year, until we reach our goal of 45
stores," says Ukrainec. "We can do it:'
Adds Samantha Freedman, a Wayne State
University student and Goodwill intern,
"Goodwill Industries is tikkun olam in
action. We are repairing Metro Detroit by
creating jobs and strengthening our com-
munities. We are changing lives. Because of
Goodwill, hopeless people have hope:'

❑

Visit the new Goodwill Industries
of Greater Detroit location at 3281
Crumb Road, Commerce Township;
goodwilldetroit.org . Donation hours:
8 a.m.-8p.m. Business hours: 9 a.m.-
9 p.m. Monday-Saturday; noon-6
p.m. Sunday.