MIDDLE TENNESSEE – In just a few months, a fledgling Goodwill service that picks up gently used furniture and other items from donors’ homes has expanded from a single subdivision into 16 Middle and West Tennessee counties.

The Home Pickup Program, which began a year ago as a small test service in Nashville’s Forest Hills area, is growing rapidly, Donation Specialist Jamie Goss said. Expansion began in late April, and the program now serves communities in 11 Middle Tennessee counties, from Clarksville to Columbia and from Lebanon to Dickson. It also serves five West Tennessee counties around Jackson and Lexington. The program averages 18 to 20 pickups per day.

It is a fairly straight-forward service, Goss said.

“Basically, if you can’t get it to us, we’ll come get it from you,” she explained. “The service is intended for people who have large items, like furniture or appliances, they can’t deliver to one of our 80-plus Goodwill Donation Express Centers. But we will also come and get smaller donations like boxes of books or bags of shoes.”

Senior citizens, people who have numerous items to donate and those without automobiles or vehicles big enough to transfer donations are typical of clients who use the service, Goss said.

“But it’s also for the average person who wants to get rid of a kitchen table or a couch, for example, and for one reason or another can’t bring those donations to us,” she explained.

Items donated to Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee are sold in the not-for-profit’s retail stores, and the proceeds are used to provide job training and employment opportunities for tens of thousands of people across Middle and West Tennessee.

Goss said donations gathered in the Home Pickup Program are usually delivered to the closest Goodwill store, meaning that they directly benefit the area where the donor lives.

“So when people donate, they’re helping their neighbors,” she said. “Their generosity cycles back into their own community.”

Home pickups are currently scheduled primarily Monday-Friday, though Saturday and Sunday pickups are also conducted in a few communities. Because of high demand for the service, those requesting a donation pickup should do so at least a week in advance.

More information about the program is available online, and pickups can be scheduled through the website or by calling (615) 425-0100.