Senior Kyle Holster said he is always looking for more ways to save money.
A new Goodwill store that opens today at 5035 W. Hessler Road in Muncie is giving students such as Holster something to look forward to.
"It looks larger than the store they had before and will offer a better environment for shoppers," he said. "Goodwill provides [Ball State students] with alternate means for goods that can be purchased at a more affordable price. It offers lower prices when buying clothes and other goods over stores like Walmart, Target or at the mall."
The new store, located just behind the previous store, opens at 9 a.m. It's a 16,000-foot facility with about 90,000 different pieces of merchandise, according to a press release.
Economics professor Cecil Bohanon said he thinks Goodwill stores can have a positive effect on students during tough economic times.
"I think [the effect] has already happened and that Goodwill's expansion is an example of that," Bohanon said. "With unemployment at 10 percent, there are going to be many people who are looking to cheaper goods and will be buying goods from stores such as Goodwill."
While Goodwill is expanding, other retailers are not experiencing the same growth. Bohanon said that in times of economic constriction, the demand for luxury goods decreases.
"Less expensive retailer's offer an option to people with low incomes, such as college students," Bohanon said.
Many Ball State students use Goodwill products for a variety of different reasons, junior Andy Barnes said.
"Several of my friends buy furniture at Goodwill... Goodwill provides furniture for student apartments and off-campus living," Barnes said.
"[Goodwill has] lightly used clothing at an extremely reasonable price," Barnes said. "[It] saves college students money that they can use for more important things."
Cindy Graham, Goodwill's vice president of marketing and Ball State alumna, said the company wants to improve the Muncie and Ball State community.
"Goodwill provides employment for the community, it provides people with the opportunity to recycle and reuse and provides quality merchandise at an affordable price," she said.
Graham said Goodwill is part of a program called Collect and Connect, a donation drive where groups collect bags of lightly used goods. For each bag of recycled goods, Goodwill gives the group a five dollar voucher to give to people in need.
Demolition of the old store will begin Thursday, and that area will be turned into a parking lot.
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