Goodwill store coming to Evergreen

A Goodwill store is in the works for Evergreen.

Mark Waatti, a developer/owner with Landstar Development, said the 14,000-square-foot building is currently under construction on LaSalle Road [U.S. 2 East] in front of Ashley Furniture.

Ground was broken on the project in mid-September.

Waatti said his father, Matt Waatti, has been working on bringing a Goodwill to the Kalispell area for five years.

Waatti said lease will be good for 10 years, and includes two five-year options.

Tim Bleymaier, a spokesman for Easter Seals Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain, said the target opening date is early May, 2011.

The independent nonprofit organization is currently in the process of hiring a store manager and store supervisor. Eventually the store will employ 15 full-time and five part-time workers, he said.

Bleymaier said Goodwill got a good response from donation drives in Kalispell the last couple of years, and that was a factor in deciding to open a store.

The organization currently has five stores in Montana, including Billings, Butte, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula, and four stores in Idaho, in Boise, Nampa, Meridian and Pocatello.

Goodwill stores typically sell donated clothing, furniture and other household goods.

Goodwill stores are the primary revenue generator for the organization, which provides a variety of services to communities, such as vocational training for individuals with developmental, physical or emotional disabilities.

One example is the P.L.A.Y. Project, — Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters.

Bleymaier noted that autistic children ages 6 and under in the Kalispell area are welcome to use The P.L.A.Y. Project, which has consultants in Missoula and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. These consultants work with parents in the home, where the child is most comfortable, and teach them play-based, individualized intervention techniques. Parents learn how to become their child’s best “P.L.A.Y.mate” by incorporating fun and useful interactions into everyday activities their child enjoys.

Goodwill stores were founded in 1902 when the Rev. Edgar J. Helms, a Methodist minister, began collecting and reselling used clothing in Boston with the goal of providing productive work for the unemployed.

More information on Easter Seals Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain can be found online at esgw-nrm.easterseals.com.

Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com