Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee will accept donations of gently used clothing, shoes and books at the 15th annual Nashville Earth Day Festival from 11 am-6 pm, Saturday, April 23, in Centennial Park.
Goodwill’s involvement is part of a larger effort in which festivalgoers can recycle and dispose of household goods in environmentally responsible ways or help the needy. Other organizations and government agencies in attendance will accept items such as compact fluorescent bulbs, household batteries, unused or expired medications, printer ink cartridges and canned vegetables, fruit and packaged dry goods. Goodwill is one of more than a hundred organizations expected to participate.
Nashville’s annual Earth Day Festival is a free, family-friendly event drawing thousands of people for live entertainment, exhibits and activities aimed at educating area residents about protecting the environment. This year the Wood Brothers, Mr. Steve and Friends and SHEL will perform, and produce and locally made products will be sold at a Green Market/Farmers Market. Many of the exhibitors will also have activities for children.
Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee is a social enterprise that sells donated goods in its stores to change lives through education, training and employment across 48 Tennessee counties. Last year, Goodwill assisted 36,081 people and helped 15,412 of those find jobs.
Also in 2015, Goodwill kept more than 27 million pounds of salvage and recyclable materials from going into landfills. The not-for-profit’s recycling of cardboard and paper pulp saved more than 44,000 trees from being cut down.
A Goodwill box truck will be parked at Centennial Park, and attendants will be ready to accept donations, providing festival-goers with a convenient way to reduce clutter in their homes while earning a tax deduction and helping others in their communities.
Goodwill also will have a tent where representatives will distribute information and answer questions about Goodwill’s donation and retail operations as well as its mission arm, Goodwill Career Solutions.
Goodwill will also be accepting donations of gently used clothing, shoes, books, household goods, furniture and more at its more than 70 Donation Express Centers across middle and west Tennessee. Locations can be found at .
