Goodwill will reopen its renovated Cottage Grove retail store, donation center, and Job Connections offices on Oct. 1, expanding vocational help for people facing barriers to work.
NBC16 reported that Goodwill Industries of Lane and South Coast Counties will mark the grand reopening on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 1205 N. Pacific Highway in Cottage Grove, Ore.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will open the celebration. The store then opens to customers at 8 a.m. Shoppers can also enter to win a $250 Goodwill gift card.
The site houses a retail store, a donation center, and Job Connections offices under one roof. Sales of gently used donated merchandise fund the group’s vocational work. Officials say the refreshed space will let them serve more people in the Cottage Grove area.
Jim Martin, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Lane and South Coast Counties, tied the store directly to workforce results.
"The Cottage Grove community has been extremely supportive of this retail store and donation center,"
Martin said. He added:
"This retail space serves as a training facility for individuals with barriers to employment, funded by the sale of the donations Goodwill receives. We are excited to share this new space that will allow us to serve more individuals in the Cottage Grove area."
Goodwill states that ninety-two cents of every dollar created through store sales supports its mission of providing vocational opportunities to people with barriers to employment. That is the kind of efficiency taxpayers and donors notice.
Virginia Slate, Goodwill board chair, pointed to continued investment by the board and leadership team.
"The Goodwill Board of Directors and our amazing leadership team have continued to invest in our locations, and this newly reimagined space will be a wonderful opportunity for shoppers to enjoy,"
Slate said. She also described how the model works:
"The sale of gently used items donated by the public helps fund employment and training opportunities, including the Goodwill Job Connections program, which serves individuals interested in obtaining or upgrading their employment."
Job Connections at the Cottage Grove location is a free service built to help jobseekers reach employment goals. Staff provide one-on-one resume assistance, interview-skills coaching, and referrals to local employers based on each participant’s goals, experience, and skills.
The program serves people who want to get a job or move up in one. It sits inside the same building as the retail floor and donation center, so the store’s daily sales feed the coaching and placement work next door.
Community members and shoppers are invited to the Oct. 1 reopening. The public is also asked to support the programs by donating goods. Those donations become inventory. Inventory becomes revenue. Revenue funds training and job placement for people who need a foothold in the workforce.
Private charity that turns donated goods into paychecks and job skills still works, when local communities show up and the dollars stay tied to employment.