Goodwill’s Downtown Akron ‘blue’ boutique helps residents stay in style on a budget

Walking into Goodwill’s new ‘blue’ boutique, there is a positive and upbeat energy. Dee Gillespie, the store manager, explains the ‘blue’ experience as an “amazing and even an emotional experience.”

The store offers name brand designers, jewelry and a whole lot more for nearly half the price or less than average retail prices.

The mission of blue/A Goodwill Boutique is to supply community members with everything they need to feel confident about any endeavor, whether it’s interviewing for a new job or attending a professional event, says Jennifer Bako, internal and external communications manager for Goodwill Industries of Akron. “This is an exciting opportunity for us here in Akron because we have both the young and older professionals in this area.”

Janet Morrison, vice president of contracts and logistics for Goodwill Industries of Akron, says the concept behind blue stems from a collaboration with the University of Akron. “In 2012 we toyed with the idea of possibly bringing back a Goodwill, but in what form? We finally decided a boutique would be right,” she says.

Customers of the boutique have already given it high praises for its trendiness and chic style. But more often than not, most people say they can’t believe that it’s a “Goodwill” boutique.

While commonly known for its retail locations and clothing donations, this new boutique shows that Goodwill is more than that. The mission of Goodwill is to help individuals prepare for, find and retain employment. They do this by providing various services and programming such as vocation assessments, job coaching and even hosting career fairs.

But all of this wouldn’t be possible if the community did not participate, so giving donations and purchasing items in the store helps to fund the Goodwill mission. Representatives of the organization call it ‘The Cycle of Goodwill.”

To find out more about Goodwill’s ‘blue’ boutique, visit  www.goodwillakron.org/shop/blue.