LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18)–Goodwill stores in Central Kentucky are seeing a major increase in donations and they are crediting the boost to a Netflix original series.
“Anything that’s streaming on Netflix that’s good, is a topic of conversation in our break rooms and around the water fountains,” said Mark Daniel, the director of retail operations for Goodwill Industries of Kentucky.
He says that at Goodwills across the city, one of Netflix’s most popular new shows isn’t just break-room talk.
“This year, we have seen a definite uptick in donations in a very typically slow time of year for us,” he said.
The Netflix original series is called “Tidying up with Marie Kondo” and it follows an organizing expert who helps people de-clutter their homes. Kondo uses her unique Kon-Mari Method to encourage people to go through what they own, piece by piece, and decide whether or not it sparks joy in their lives.
“We really feel like the community is grabbing a hold of that premise of the show,” he said.
Kentuckians must have a lot of stuff that didn’t spark joy for them because Goodwill Industries is reporting a 29% increase in donations from the beginning of this year over last year.
“Typically we have a ramp up towards the end of the year, with the crescendo being the 31st because that’s the last day that you can get a tax deduction for 2018, but that just continued on,” he said.
No matter the reason, company leaders say that they’re thrilled people are choosing to help.
“We feel very blessed that the communities trust us enough to bring us their stuff so that we can create pathways for Kentuckians out of poverty,” he said.
