New Goodwill store on Emory Valley Road has ribbon-cutting on Sept. 18

Posted at 9:52 pm September 11, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Officials will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Goodwill store on Emory Valley Road on Friday, September 18.

The new Goodwill Industries-Knoxville Inc. store will replace the existing Oak Ridge Goodwill, which is now located on South Illinois Avenue.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony is from 9 to 10 a.m. Friday, September 18.

“The new location…will provide a brighter shopping space with a significantly larger center for job training efforts,” a press release said.

“The ribbon cutting will take place at 9 a.m., but the celebration will continue,” the release said. “The first shoppers who arrive between 9 a.m. and noon on September 18 will receive 20 percent off their purchases.”

The new store, located at 697 Emory Valley Road, will continue to receive and sell donations of gently used clothing and household goods. Proceeds from the sale of goods in this and other Goodwill stores will fund job training programs and employment opportunities for people with barriers to employment in and around Oak Ridge, the press release said.

The company said Goodwill has offered a wide variety of employment training programs in Oak Ridge since 1988, including vocational evaluation and trial work experiences, work adjustment, school-to-work programs, driver’s education, computer applications courses, job readiness training, and job placement. By changing locations in Oak Ridge, Goodwill will expand their training area from 600 square feet to more than 1,500 square feet.

Goodwill Industries-Knoxville serves 15 counties in East Tennessee. In 2014, they served more than 4,000 individuals through vocational services and employment opportunities. For more information about their programming, call (865) 588-8567 or visit www.gwiktn.org.

The release said Goodwill Industries-Knoxville Inc. operates 30 retail locations and five employment training and rehabilitation centers throughout its 15-county service area.

Goodwill is moving next to the new Hank’s Market, where Curves used to be in the former Food Lion shopping center on Emory Valley Road. Here is the storefront as pictured on Aug. 22. Goodwill will have a ribbon-cutting on Friday, Sept. 18. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)