Santa Fe’s Goodwill store needs more goodwill

Ihave been shopping at Goodwill since before I was born. As we were a family of limited funds, my mother bought almost all our clothes and household goods there, from infant clothing to silverware. When a childhood friend cruelly pointed out to me that Goodwill is where poor people shop, I was ashamed and began to hate going there with Mom. But in time — perhaps the mid-’90s when grunge emerged — I found a new love for recycled clothing.

Since then, I have grown up to become a teacher, and I witness firsthand the detriments of poverty, joblessness and

rampant, wasteful consumerism — all aspects of humanity upon which Goodwill was founded to ameliorate.

So it is probably no surprise that I frequently shop and donate to Goodwill. However, at my local store here in Santa Fe, the changing rooms have been closed, apparently due to theft that happens there. Overhead, a soothing customer service voice chants ad nauseum that one can return clothing within their generous three-day return period. Ha! That’s worse than offering a mail-in rebate.

I ask you, how is Goodwill at such a loss when all these supposed stolen items are donated anyway? Moreover, have store workers done a cost-benefit analysis of the shoppers they will be losing (like me) if they close the changing rooms? Do they believe theft will suddenly cease if they close the changing rooms? And finally, how does disallowing people to try on clothes serve Goodwill’s mission to help the poor feel dignity and self-worth?

I urge them to reconsider this move. If the losses Goodwill is experiencing are truly devastating (which I find hard to believe as their racks continue to overflow), then why not put an employee in place to monitor the changing rooms?

As Goodwill is a company with over 100 years of practice, I’m sure their higher-ups (who, I have read, are not among the lowest-earning in our country) have deeply considered the matter before making this difficult decision. I ask that they go back to the drawing board, gain customer feedback like any other learning organization, and make a decision that actually serves the people they aim to help.