By ERIN BEIL

Staff writer

After being a staple in Kitsap Mall’s parking lot for a number of years, the Goodwill donation center is searching for a new location.

“For many years, we’ve provided a space, no charge, and we’ve had a good relationship,” said Kitsap Mall Senior Manager Dan Engelhard. “It’s been a win-win deal.”

With more and more Silverdale residents discovering the handy donation site, Engelhard said Goodwill needed a larger area. Unfortunately, he added, people were leaving donations in the parking lot during the late night and early morning hours when the center was not staffed.

“We’ve been at that location for a number of years and we’ve been happily ensconced … the donors have been very generous to us,” said Seattle Goodwill Spokeswoman Betsy McFeely. “We’ve spoken to the mall and they need the space, especially as the holidays are coming up.”

McFeely added she is grateful of the space Kitsap Mall has provided and because this was such a popular site, the Goodwill donation center is in search of a similar parking lot with a lot of room that will be a popular donation site.

“Donation centers bring in a lot of shoppers, and potential shoppers use that facility,” she said. “We’d love to have another donation center in the community.”

Donations given to Goodwill are processed and sold in their retail stores. Proceeds from those sales help fund free programs such as retail and customer service training, bank skills training and adult basic education. McFeely added that graduates of those programs then find jobs and become contributing members of the community.

“(Hosting a Goodwill trailer) is a great way to draw partnerships between non-profit and corporate companies,” McFeely added.

For more information about hosting the Goodwill donation center, contact Cindi Forslund at (206) 860-5706. For more information about Seattle Goodwill, visit www.seattlegoodwill.org.