A middle school teacher in Clarksville is petitioning to save a Goodwill outlet store set to close next month. Caralee Harrison spent her Black Friday outside the store on Fort Campbell Boulevard collecting signatures.
Harrison buys backpacks and shoes there for her students who can’t afford them. She said the store allows her to purchase an abundance of supplies on a teacher’s salary. She said the location also helps a nearby homeless settlement.
“One of them that signed the petition even told me that if it weren’t for the Goodwill they wouldn’t have been able to buy tents, blankets, shoes, jackets, just your basic things especially now since the weather is getting cold,” Harrison said.
Goodwill spokesperson Chris Fletcher said the location was converted to a 99 cent outlet in January because of difficulty meeting budgetary goals but that change wasn’t successful enough to warrant extending the store’s lease. He said the store will close on December 15. The donation center will receive items until December 31. Employees will be transferred to two other Goodwills in Clarksville. Harrison said those are in more affluent areas and the people who need Goodwill the most live within two miles of the closing location.
She said she has started an online petition as well as emailed the regional Goodwill CEO with budgetary suggestions. Fletcher said Goodwill appreciates the support but “successful stores are what funds our mission of changing lives through education, training and employment.”
