WASHINGTON — You don’t have to load up items you want to donate to Goodwill and take them to the nearest location yourself, thanks to a Goodwill partnership with on-demand delivery app Roadie.
Atlanta-based Roadie, with an active network in the D.C. region, calls itself an “on-the-way” delivery network, and will pick up unwanted items — clothing, furniture, bicycles, etc. — and take them to the nearest Goodwill donation center from now through Feb. 28.
Donors get a discount for the Roadie service which, in many cases, would be enough to cover the cost.
“January is typically a month when people reflect and resolve to do better. It is also a time when donations are traditionally down for Goodwill,” said Goodwill Industries International CEO Jim Gibbons.
“So this year, we are partnering with Roadie to make donating easier than ever and asking you to resolve to be a job creator by donating to Goodwill in 2017,” he said.
Money raised by Goodwill’s sale of donated items goes to job training and placement, mentoring and online learning services for disadvantaged people.
Roadie’s sharing economy model connects people who have things to send someplace with drivers who are already headed in the right direction and have space in their vehicles to take the items.
“Because of this, senders can send anything from cupcakes to couches. And as a driver, you an get reward and earn extra cash on drives you’re already taking,” Roadie’s Jamie Gottlieb told WTOP.
The drivers work in both on-demand mode and for pre-scheduled deliveries.
“You could be taking a trip to work or a friend’s house, or even planning a week ahead if you’re driving to Philly or across country, and you could pick up deliveries along the way,” she said.
Drivers can make anywhere from $8 to $50 for local deliveries, and considerably more for longer-haul deliveries.
Roadie says more than 200,000 people have downloaded its app nationwide.
For the Goodwill promotion, you need to download the Roadie app and enter the promo code GOODWILL.
