Donations and discounts | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Or just find an unexpected treasure.

A new Goodwill store will open at Jumpers Junction in Pasadena on July 23, an addition to the 22 stores the company operates in central Maryland and the Eastern Shore.

The 16,675-square-foot location, a former Advanced Auto Parts store at the intersection of Jumpers Hole Road and Ritchie Highway, was chosen for its visibility. This location will be Anne Arundel County's fourth Goodwill location. The organization also operates stores in Lake Shore, Millersville and Annapolis. About half of the building will be the sales floor and the rest will be the donation center and processing area. It will employ 12 full-time employees and one part-time employee.

"We want to give people an opportunity that they otherwise wouldn't have," said Harriett Moore, sales director for Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake.

The organization is North America's leading provider of education, training and career services for disadvantaged individuals.

Marsha Frazier, president of the North County Emergency Outreach Network, which operates a food bank in Glen Burnie and provides other assistance to people in need, said she is happy to see a new Goodwill store opening in the area. NCEON has been busy in recent months with many requests for help as the cost of living increases.

"It's always a good thing when people can go and get some of the things they need at a reduced price," she said. "If you can get a product that's reusable, why go buy something brand new?"

The store, which will sell clothing for men, women and children, books, housewares, small electric appliances, TVs, linens, textiles and jewelry, will help consumers save money and help others find that random gem.

"The customer comes to Goodwill looking for that value or that treasure they might find," Ms. Moore said. "Some of them come through the door looking for a white blouse and walk out with The White Album."

Ms. Moore said people from all walks of life shop in Goodwill stores.

"It's a mixed bag," she said. "Some shop out of necessity; some shop because it's convenient; some just like to shop."

Some people who run their own stores shop at Goodwill two to three times a day because new merchandise is put out in the store.

Some Goodwill stores are self-sufficient. Others get more donations than they can handle and still others don't get enough donations. Last year, the company received more than 25.3 million pounds of donations.

The new location has already received two tractor-trailers of donations, store manager Paige Van Atta said. The White Marsh resident was an assistant store manager with K-Mart for eight years, six of them spent at the company's store in Pasadena.

Other Goodwill stores have been holding merchandise for the new store since Christmas and New Year's, Goodwill's heaviest donation time, she said.

"It's a real team effort," Ms. Moore said. "It gives you a good feeling."