Evansville Goodwill Outlet opens; new HQ thrives at Washington Square Mall
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Two months after Evansville Goodwill moved its headquarters to Washington Square Mall, a Goodwill Outlet is operating at the former location at 500 S. Green River. Rd. near Lincoln Ave.
The store held a grand opening on Thursday with capacity limitations and time restrictions because of the high level of interest. Connie Ralph, Evansville Goodwill’s president and CEO, explained how the outlet is different from the not-for-profit’s retail stores.
“We don’t leave the same merchandise in our stores forever and ever. We rotate things out. So the things that don’t sell, that rotate out will all go into that outlet store. That means the 14 stores in our Tri-State area that we serve will all be coming together into that outlet store and then [the merchandise will be] sold by the pound for $1.99,” she said.
As the Goodwill Outlet gets off the ground, the new headquarters—which includes a thrift store, corporate offices, GoodSkills Academy (public digital skills classes) and The Excel Center (a new adult high school)—is thriving down the street at Washington Ave. and S. Green River Rd. More than 150 students enrolled at The Excel Center will complete their first term this week.
“It’s one of the things that is really going to help people get out of poverty, and that’s really what we’re trying to do. We want to see all people thrive,” Ralph said.
‘Let’s do the big move’
Evansville Goodwill started looking for a new headquarters in 2020 during the pandemic. Ralph said people were spending a lot of time at home cleaning out closets and organizing donations.
“Goodwill was blessed with a tremendous amount of donated goods when things started opening back up. And we did not have adequate storage space. We were spending a lot of money on trailer storage without even knowing what were storing. So we started looking for buildings,” she said.
The organization bought the former Sears building at Washington Square Mall that same year and spent the next two years planning the renovations, which started in 2023. Ralph said the design goals were to create a desirable workspace—which includes a fireplace, terrace, soft couches and chairs, and conference rooms—and break down office silos.
“We combined our donated goods, retail staff, mission staff, HR staff and marketing staff all into one large area, and they’re all interspersed, which requires everybody to get to know everybody and understand what everybody does,” she said.
Besides adding storage capacity, the not-for-profit was also focused on expanding mission services and adding programs like The Excel Center.
“There are a lot of people on the south side of Evansville that are living in poverty and could benefit from the services,” said Ralph. “We started discussing as a board, ‘Let’s do the big move. Let’s invest in our community. Let’s help revitalize the southeast side of Evansville.’”
The Excel Center
The idea for a free high school for adults started at Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana in 2010. Today, there are 21 locations in Indiana and 12 locations in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Arizona and Texas.
David Blaize, director of The Excel Center Evansville Southeast, said nearly 13,000 adults in Vanderburgh County don’t have a high school diploma.
“This gives them that second chance to be able to get that certification that a lot of jobs now require,” he said. “This gives them new avenues for employment. It gives them new opportunities in life.”
The program operates on eight-week terms, so Indiana residents age 18 or older without a high school diploma can enroll throughout the year. Each student is assessed to ensure they’re ready to pick up their education where they left off.
“If you took Algebra I 15 years ago, you may have gotten a credit in it back then, but that doesn’t mean you still remember enough of it to be able to jump right into Algebra II. So some people may need a little review,” said Blaize. “We will pull their transcripts, look at what credits they’ve earned and then we will help them earn those credits that were missing when they complete the program with a full Core 40 high school diploma. It’s not a GED program.”
The center plans to hold two graduation ceremonies per school year, with the first one taking place in April 2025. Along with a diploma, students can get industry recognized certifications to join the workforce or earn dual credits to continue their education in college. The program also offers support services such as transportation assistance, on-site child care and life coaches.
“If there’s any hindrances that come up, roadblocks in the way, speed bumps, whatever the case may be that might slow them down in their education, the life coaches can step in and help remove those barriers, help encourage them and keep them going,” Blaize said.
GoodSkills Academy
The new Goodwill Evansville headquarters also houses GoodSkills Academy, which offers free computer classes. The program has been operating in Evansville since 2021.
“It is a way to increase your employability skills, because we all know at this point the technology has saturated our society,” said Brandy Smith, vice president of mission services at Evansville Goodwill. “Since 2010, about two thirds of the new jobs created require some level of digital skills. So when we see things like that, we know that there is a void in the community, and it has to be addressed.”
Smith said the academy doesn’t have eligibility requirements. Anyone can register for the curriculum that starts with essential computer skills and covers topics such as Microsoft Excel and Word.
“We also do some Google Docs training, and a couple other one-off things like how to build a resume, how to conduct yourself during a Zoom interview, things like that,” Smith said.
Before he moved to The Excel Center, Blaize was the director of GoodSkills Academy. Smith said she expects the academy’s new director, Christina Rodriguez, to continue the work Blaize began with programs like Evansville Promise Neighborhood and organizations like Community One.
“We’re able to go into the Tepe Park clubhouse and offer classes on site there,” said Smith. “So it’s centralized within those neighborhoods, which allows many of the residents who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to be able to come in and take those classes completely free on their own turf without having to figure out how to get to the bus stop and transfer and get over to Washington Ave.”
Smith also mentioned the possibility of offering free computer classes on a virtual platform.
“If we’re able to open this up … then we can reach a lot of people who are outside the Evansville area to provide services to them as well,” she said. “It’s figuring out a way to make it accessible to everyone in those 28 counties [that we serve in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.] That’s where I see the future.”