Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries will be opening their eighth retail store, later this summer, in Boardman. This new 12,000 square foot store will be located at 285 Boardman-Canfield Road in the Boardman Plaza (the old Rite-Aid location).

The three-day grand opening will begin with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, August 9. Some of the festivities include giveaways for the first 50 customers and drawings for door prizes.

Store and donation center hours will be Monday-Saturday from 10am-8pm, and Sunday noon-5pm. The donation center will be located in the back of the store and will feature a drive thru canopy.

“Our new prototype store will be filled with quality donated merchandise, along with new merchandise,” says David Ivko, retail sales director. Approximately 20% of the Boardman store merchandise mix will be new merchandise—no seconds, only first-line merchandise at great savings.

Some of the new first-line merchandise that can be found daily at low prices are kitchen utensils and plastic containers for $1.59, ladies pantyhose for $1.49, men’s genuine leather belts for $4.99, greeting cards at 2 for a $1.00, and ladies name brand bras from $2.99 to $4.99.

“Our new store in the Boardman plaza will reflect our new generation of Goodwill stores in the Youngstown market,” says Ivko. “This store is not the Goodwill store that you remember in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s or 90’s. This new exciting store brings a whole new dimension to shopping at Goodwill.”

The new store will feature improved lighting, updated fixturing, public restrooms and a lounge area for husbands who don’t want to shop. Most importantly, the Boardman store will employ 15 people from the surrounding area.

In addition to creating 15 jobs in the community, all revenues generated from the local Goodwill stores stay in the Youngstown area to provide job training and employment services to people with disabilities or other barriers to employment. The generous donations made by the community at Goodwill’s attended collection centers allow Goodwill to operate their stores and provide jobs to nearly 300 people.