Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning as it begins to accept donations at its under-construction Gateway Center facility.

The ceremony, in conjunction with the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, will be held at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 18, at 419 Gateway Blvd., near the Gateway Center entrance. The public is invited to share in this celebration, and media coverage is encouraged.

Goodwill’s newest store is under construction at the site with a planned spring completion. With the parking lot and entrance now finished, a donation attendant and Goodwill truck previously accepting donations in the Gateway Center has relocated to Goodwill’s two-acre site.

A uniformed Goodwill attendant will accept donations of gently used clothing, household items and small appliances daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The site will be open each day, except on Christmas day, to accept end-of-the-year donations from residents seeking a receipt for 2015 tax deductions.

Once construction on the site is completed, the facility will provide a 9,600 square foot Goodwill retail training store and donation drive-through convenient to residents of the fast-growing Grovetown area. As the retail store generates sufficient revenue to support Goodwill’s mission, a Goodwill Job ConnectionSM will open at the site to provide job training, education and career development services for the community.

When the Gateway Goodwill opens, the facility will increase the number of Goodwill’s retail training stores in the CSRA to six, including the newly opened Last Chance! Goodwill in Martinez.