When Dub lost nearly everyone and everything he had and was left with only an apartment to live in, he wasn’t sure what to do to start building his life back up again.
Dub’s need for affordable household items led him to the Goodwill 2nd Chance Outlet in Louisville. In addition to finding items to furnish his apartment, he said he found a second home at the Outlet.
“The Goodwill outlet is almost like a family to me,” he said. “I’ve got friends here – I know everybody by name. I come here at least five-to-six times per week. I get to see things I never knew existed on the shelves. I get all the clothes that I wear here. Prices are really, really great.”
After becoming a regular at the Outlet, Dub became a member, which gives him access to premium product before it hits the bins and shelves. Members pay $25 per month and can purchase spots on the member conveyor belt to get first dibs over nonmembers.
Members also benefit from special reduced pricing on items sold at the Outlet. Dub said his bread and butter are housewares. He pays just 45 cents per pound as a member compared to 99 cents for nonmembers with items weighing less than 25 pounds. He said no matter how much product he buys, the membership is a great value. Some of his best finds are a lens for his Canon camera and a PlayStation 4.
“I have left here with a half-pound a lot of days,” he said. “Even if I leave, I don’t have to worry about paying the top price. It definitely pays for me, as often as I come.”
Dub always rounds up at the register, too, to support the greater cause for Goodwill’s stores – providing pathways out of poverty Kentuckians in need. Ninety cents of every dollar generated at Goodwill retail stores are funneled into career and self-sufficiency programs and resources.
“I support the Goodwill family,” he said. “I know what they do, I know how they do it. I’ve seen the good that comes from it. I know the people who are the end result of what is happening. They’re my friends.”
Learn more about the 2nd Chance Outlet and become a member at GoodwillKYOutlet.org.