32 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY DECEMBER 12-18, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com LOCAL SHOPPING A visit to a Goodwill store is like going on a treasure hunt. Among the racks of clothes, there may be a hard-to-find T-shirt from a long-ago concert in mint condition. Or there’s a rare Nintendo 64 cartridge sitting on the shelf that’s been wellplayed. Need a VHS player to watch all your family movies from the 1980s? Plenty of options here. In fact, Goodwill Central Coast calls these finds “treasures” that it posts daily on Instagram, says Alan Martinson, vice president of retail and marketing. But don’t delay, as they may be scooped up within minutes. Goodwill Central Coast operates 14 retail locations across Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties. One of its oldest, but most popular, is located at 708 East Alisal St. in Salinas, having opened in 1962. But in the six decades since, it was showing its age. After three years of planning and construction, the newly remodeled store held a celebration on Dec. 5. Martinson says the work included redoing the entire sales floor, widening the aisles, remodeling the bathrooms, adding air conditioning and more. “It wasn’t to build sales, it was really to provide a better environment for our employees and people coming in,” he says. “It’s really great to see that people are enjoying coming in and like the environment we’ve built for them.” The 4,900-square-foot Alisal store caps off a near-decade-long project that saw Goodwill renovate all of its stores in the Central Coast region. The Alisal location is unique in that it’s the closest to Goodwill’s processing facility, Martinson says, where donations from various sites are collected and organized on their way to distribution to the various stores. A truckload of goods are transported to Alisal daily, he notes. Donations—both items and money— are key to Goodwill’s operations. They help fund Goodwill’s job training programs and other services, benefiting more than 11,000 people over the last year, according to Martinson, as well as divert an estimated 17 million pounds of items from going to the landfill annually. Goodwill estimates it receives more than 630,000 donations a year. “We are blown away by the generosity of people,” Martinson says. “We maximize what we can get for our donations. We don’t want to throw it in the trash if it’s a good item.” Goodwill Central Coast is at 708 East Alisal St., Salinas, and other locations across Monterey County. 423-8611, ccgoodwill.org. DANIEL DREIFUSS Sustainable Shopping Goodwill caps off renovation project, giving shoppers a fresh way to hunt for those unique items. By Erik Chalhoub Shoppers browse the racks of clothing, shoes and other goods inside Goodwill Central Coast’s newly remodeled store on East Alisal Street in Salinas. • Over 100 dealers 21,000 square feet The Largest AnTiques And COLLeCTibLes MALL on the Central Coast ’24 Voted Monterey County's Best Antique Shop 471 WAVE STREET MONTEREY (831) 655-0264 P M canneryrowantiquemall.com Holiday shopping? Come by to find a vintage treasure! HOLidAY sPeCTACuLAR THuRsdAY, deC. 19 11am - 6pm Stop by for a festive and fun time and enter for a chance to win a Gift Card ♦ 3 Card Poker ♠ Century 21st No Bust Black Jack ♣ Texas Hold’em ♥ Baccarat FULL BAR! BLACKJACK BONUS POINTS PAYS UP TO $20,000 SMALL TOWN BIG PAYOUTS! 1-800-Gambler • Gega-003846, Gega-Gega-003703, Gega-000889 Gega-000891 Gega-002838 The Marina Club Casino ensures the safety and security of all guests and team members at all times, while providing exceptional service. 204 Carmel Ave. Marina 831-384-0925 casinomonterey.com ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ Just minutes from Downtown Monterey Where Monterey Comes To Play
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