Goodwill and Regency Mall Host Denim Drive
April 11, 2018Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia and Regency Mall will host two denim collection weekends for the general public to boost Goodwill’s third annual Denim Drive benefiting Henrico County Public Schools and Goodwill.
Henrico County Public Schools have been in friendly competition this spring to collect the most denim at their schools, and the general public can now support the efforts by bringing their denim donations to Regency Mall and designating which school(s) they want to receive credit for the donations.
Donations will be accepted and tallied at Regency at 1420 N. Parham Rd. at a temporary storefront on the upper level near JCPenney at these times:
- Saturday April 14 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Sunday April 15 Noon to 6 p.m.
- Saturday April 21 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Sunday April 22 Noon to 6 p.m.
Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three elementary, middle and high schools for principals to use at their discretion. The leading school after the first collection weekend (April 15) will also receive a special cash prize. An award ceremony will take place at Regency on April 28 at 1 p.m. “The Denim Drive is a great opportunity to donate to a worthy cause while also benefiting local area schools,” said Steven Bonniville, general manager of Regency. “We are happy to host the event for the third year.”
“Excitement for this event has been building for weeks,” said Russ Rainer, Goodwill’s donation development manager for Central Virginia. “Last year, we collected nearly 7,000 denim items and awarded prizes to nine schools. Many schools are trying to retain their champion status while others are trying to unseat their rivals,” he added.
Goodwill turns the jeans into jobs by reselling the denim to fund workforce development programs for individuals facing challenges to work. Most of the items go directly to Goodwill retail stores for re-sale; some denim is sold to recyclers for other purposes, such as creating insulation.
Goodwill also has a donation trailer on-site at the mall; please note that Denim Drive donations only count towards the donors’ school of choice when made inside the mall at the collection site. Other clothing and household items may be donated at the trailer.