Update from Dan — May 2020
Hello everyone,
I hope you and your family and friends are doing well during these strange times we are living through. I know it is incredibly hard to shut down our lives the way we have. It has worn on all of us. But I am certain we will look back and know that we helped protect each other. We have all learned a lot through this process. And we’ll continue to learn as we move through the next phase of dealing with the pandemic together.
Michigan is slowly reopening business and activities. This week our donation doors are open across Northern Michigan, and we’re preparing for the day when we’ll be able to reopen the stores as well. Although it’s impossible to predict the future, we expect that many Michigan stores, including ours, will be able to reopen sometime in the next 30 days.
But we need to realize that when we reopen, we’re not going back to the way things were six months ago. That's not the reality we all face. The rules have changed, and things will be different for quite some time to come. Some changes may even be permanent.
Our teammates who work on the mission services side are already used to many of these changes. Since the pandemic started, they have continued their work, helping people without a place to call home and without sufficient and healthy food to eat. They do health checks every day when they come to work. They wear personal protective equipment — called PPE for short — like gloves and masks. They do their jobs while keeping 6 feet away from others. They continuously clean and sanitize. These are some of the virus-related things we will be doing throughout the organization to help keep everyone safe and to comply with state and federal guidelines.
With our donation doors now open, we’re storing donations for 72 hours so they can sit untouched before they are processed. There are still some things we don’t understand about the virus, but the best available information shows us that quarantining donations in this way may help to stop the spread. We are committed to taking every precaution we can to ensure the safety of our team members, and of our customers and donors.
When the stores reopen, we will need to limit the number of customers in the store at any given time. We will greet customers at the door during busy times of the day with instruction on how to protect themselves and others while shopping. We’re marking floors to help everyone maintain 6 feet of separation while waiting in line, at the time clock, or in the break room. The dressing rooms will be closed, and customers will need to ask for a key to the restroom. All of these things will help keep everyone safe.
Our stores provide important funding for our mission services. I am grateful to all of our mission service team members who have worked so hard to support our most vulnerable neighbors through the crisis. And I am grateful to all of our retail, ecommerce and warehouse team members who are helping get our store operations up and running again so that we can continue our mission programs. Robert, Josh and I are visiting each location as we reopen. It’s good to come together again.
Next time I send out a message, we may have more information about when and how the stores will be reopening. In the meantime, I want you to know about an important service.
Northern Lakes runs a Mental Health Crisis Line that is available to everyone in the community. A crisis is self-defined – YOU determine if it is a crisis. It might be out-of-control behaviors that put people at risk, thoughts of suicide, stresses that impact daily life, or it may be that you don’t know what else to do. No one is denied access to crisis services. You can call even if you do not have insurance. There are no out of pocket costs. So do not hesitate to reach out. You can receive crisis services by calling 1-833-295-0616 at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Finally, I’d like to ask you to take 10 minutes to help Goodwill Northern Michigan and the rest of the communities for the next 10 years. If you haven't done so already, please be sure to complete the Census. It's quick, easy, safe, secure, and confidential, and every person really counts. The results of the Census directly impact how much funding we receive for our mission service programs. So please complete and return the survey you received in the mail, or go online to my2020census.gov, or call 844-330-2020. It's a big deal and everyone does count.
Thank you,
Dan