Goodwill Hawaii has started to occupy its new Hilo location, and four of the nonprofit’s community programs will be operating out of the property by the end of the month.
Goodwill Hawaii announced in October 2023 that it would be closing its three leased properties in Hilo and would move operations to a large parcel at 17 Makaala St. to serve as the East Hawaii hub for employees, customers and clients.
Goodwill paid $6.265 million for the new site, which has four buildings that will be used for a drive-through donation center, a new store, space to operate its programs, offices and a new recycling center.
By the end of the July, Goodwill Hawaii will have moved out of two of the buildings they lease.
“We’re really pleased to report that we did move out of one of our buildings, and we have two programs running at the (new) location already,” said Goodwill Hawaii Chief Executive Officer Katy Chen. “We’ve been spending a number of months renovating the interior to best suit the staff and clients in each program.”
According to its annual report, Goodwill Hawaii served 1,381 Big Island residents last year through its free community service programs, which include Career Services, Workforce Development, O I Ka Hana Youth Services and Intellectual Disability Services Ho‘olana Program.
“The business is twofold. Thrifting, repurposing and reselling is our commitment to sustainability, and the money we raise from the (Big Island) stores goes into the community services provided in this county,” Chen said.
Career Services helps vulnerable populations — displaced workers, adults with disabilities, immigrants and reintegrating ex-offenders — identify, prepare and land a job they want.
“People can access Career Services through self-referral or by a referral from other organizations. We have four staff dedicated to this program, and they are cross-trained to work with nearly every situation,” said Ray Saludares, director of Career Services. “We love the (new) space and are looking forward to moving in at the end of the month and making it our permanent home.”
Goodwill’s Workforce Development programs are similar to Career Services, but often involve low-income earners or those utilizing benefits, and clients are referred by the state Department of Human Services.
“These two programs help people in need find a career path to move forward by assisting them with education, training and certification,” Chen said. “The people on staff help with job readiness skills, crafting resumes, interviewing skills, finding openings and following up for months afterward.”
Ola I Ka Hana Youth Services is a program for Big Island residents 14- to 24-years old who may have struggled in traditional school settings, but are interested in reaching educational and employment goals.
A youth specialist works with participants to develop and meet their goals, whether it’s earning a high school equivalency certification or gaining experience necessary to find a job that will lead them to financial independence.
The Ho‘olana Program gives adults with intellectual disabilities a place where they can learn to become independent members of the community and enhance their quality of life.
Ho‘olana participants of receive self-care assistance, activities that help develop good habits, and community integration opportunities, among other things.
Construction of the Hilo store, the Ho‘olana Program space, parking lot and a few other aspects of the campus cannot begin until the permit is approved by the county. Depending on the time it takes for approval, Chen is aiming to start the construction and renovations to the exterior and the rest of the interior in early 2025.
“For our long-term renovations, we are planning to have all of our program services on one side of the property and the store and donation center on the other side,” Chen said. “We will have 63 parking spaces and a circle-drive donation process, which will make things so much easier.”
Goodwill Hawaii is currently raising money for the planned recycling program, which will be located in Building 1 on the Hilo campus after a tenant moves in the fall.
“If we have the funding we hope to get, we’re going to be expanding our recycling initiatives, which is something we haven’t been able to do in Hawaii County,” Chen said. “With a dedicated warehouse, we can recycle textiles, shred cardboard and shred large amounts of paper to make recycled paper and hopefully help Hawaii County’s landfills.”
Building 4 will serve as the new store, which will be significantly larger than the current Goodwill store on Kanoelehua Avenue.
While waiting for the permit approval and construction, Goodwill Hawaii is using part of the Building 4 to process donations from Oahu, which are delivered to the Goodwill stores in Waikoloa and Pahoa.
“We have gradually increased our shipments from Oahu to the Big Island because the community demands the product, so this new campus will us the space and ability to hire more people and expand our services,” Chen said. “I’m just so proud of our programming staff for being flexible and rallying together to make this happen. This will truly be a better experience for our staff and clients.”
For more information about Career Services, email Saludares at rsaludares@higoodwilll.org, and for Workforce Development, email Ann Boyd at aboyd@higoodwill.org.
For Ola I Ka Hana Youth Services, email Kealoha Daubert at kdaubert@higoodwill.org, and for Intellectual Disability Services Ho‘olana Program, email dnakanishi@higoodwill.org
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
