Nearly a year after the Goodwill donation trailer moved out of the Kitsap Mall parking lot, Seattle Goodwill is still looking for a Silverdale location to call home.

Seattle Goodwill is searching for a Silverdale location to set up a 28-foot donation trailer where people can donate items to the nonprofit organization.

“Essentially we’re looking for a location that has a lot of exposure and easy access for people to give donations,” Seattle Goodwill Donations Manager Arie Mahler said.

Goodwill maintained a donation trailer in the Kitsap Mall parking lot for years, but were forced to close up shop last November because they needed a larger location and Kitsap Mall needed the space as the holidays approached.

Mahler said he has driven around Silverdale a few times and scoped out several possible locations for a Goodwill donation trailer.

“Really I think there’s a lot of locations that would be ideal for us,” Mahler said.

Seattle Goodwill Spokeswoman Betsy McFeely said Goodwill provides all the necessary support to maintain the donation site, so a business that hosts a trailer does not have to look after the area. Goodwill also provides the business with marketing materials and will advertise the donation trailer’s location in its publication and on its Web site.

McFeely said Goodwill staff members are at the donation trailer seven days a week to accept donations.

“The host doesn’t really have to worry about that,” McFeely said. “We try to make it easy for them.”

Mahler said people constantly call the Goodwill retail store in Bremerton inquiring about a donation center in Silverdale. He added that the donation site at Kitsap Mall was popular and frequently used by citizens.

“We were there (in Silverdale) before and by far it was one of our busiest centers,” Mahler said. “Our Bremerton store is not all that far away, but we still get calls about a Silverdale trailer.”

Mahler said it reflects well on a business to host a Goodwill donation trailer because it shows the establishment’s commitment to giving back to the community. It also helps draw more people to the business itself, he said.

“People will find it, people will use it and if people come to the site to donate they’ll probably stop by the store as well,” Mahler said.

Donations given to Goodwill are processed and sold in their retail stores. Proceeds from those sales help fund free programs for people with disadvantages, such as welfare dependency, homelessness as well as those with physical, mental and emotional disabilities, according to Goodwill’s Web site.

People who graduate from the programs then go on to find jobs.

For more information on hosting a Goodwill donation trailer, contact Mahler at (206) 391-8012 or e-mail arie.mahler@seattlegoodwill.org.