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Partnership will benefit clients By Jonel Aleccia Coping with the aftermath of public generosity just got easier at Community Works of Medford. Starting this week, donations of clothing, household goods and other items to the social service agency will be picked up and processed by Southern Oregon Goodwill. It�s a new nonprofit partnership that organizers say will be a boon to staff members and community clients alike. "It�s a real win-win," said Bert Bamforth, vice president of sales for Southern Oregon Goodwill. Under the new plan, Goodwill staff will pick up and sort donations and place the clothing, furniture and other goods in the agency�s retail stores. In return, Community Works will receive $25,000 a year in shopping vouchers to distribute to participants in programs ranging from Dunn House and Rape Crisis to the Transitional Living Program that helps independent teenagers set up housekeeping. The benefits of the arrangement, more than a year in the making, will be both sensible and sensitive, organizers say. Goodwill�s services will free some 14 Community Works staffers and volunteers from the duties of sorting, processing and storing donations that pile up at 900 E. Main St. "What this will do is to allow our staff to do what they�re good at, which is focusing on drug treatment and other services," said Lynn Green, Community Works marketing director. At the same time, the shopping vouchers will allow clients more control over the goods they receive. "It was important to the Community Works board that people would have the dignity to shop on their own and pick out what they want when they want," said Tim Butte, Goodwill development director. Clients will be free to shop at any Goodwill retail store in the region. Community Works has been receiving about 1,000 donations annually of everything from coats and snowboots to mattresses, blankets and pans. Goodwill figured compensation for the vouchers based on a typical value of $25 per donation, Bamforth said. Donations for Community Works programs can now be dropped off at any Goodwill donation center in the Rogue Valley. Area residents can also call 772-3300 to schedule pickups of "gently used" goods, Butte said. For more information about the partnership, contact Goodwill at 772-3300 or Community Works at 779-2393. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.