News from around the Valley, Oct. 15-21, 2015

Goodwill opens new location: Goodwill of Southern Nevada is set to open its largest store in the nonprofit's 40-year history in Las Vegas on Oct. 16 as one of the retail anchors at the newly renovated Boulevard Mall, 3528 S. Maryland Parkway. The 28,000-square-foot store is in the former site of Dillard's and features a 17,000-square-foot sales floor stocked with men's, women's and children's clothing, purses, jewelry, kitchen goods, accessories, furniture, art and more. Hours are set to be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Goodwill has hired approximately 50 new team members in its retail and operation departments to staff and support the new store. Visit goodwill.vegas.

Candy drive: Yes! Air Conditioning and Plumbing, a residential heating, air conditioning and plumbing company, announces a community candy drive in partnership with USO Las Vegas, benefiting the local military community. Through Oct. 20, Yes! is inviting residents to visit its offices at 6275 S. Pioneer Way from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to drop off candy for the upcoming Halloween holiday. The company will be donating the collected candy and an additional amount donated by the business to USO to be handed out at upcoming private harvest and holiday parties for local military families. In addition, Yes! is offering all candy drive participants 20 percent off any heating, air conditioning, indoor air quality or plumbing service.

Food drive: America First Credit Union recently launched its 11th annual Community Food Drive, set to run through Oct. 24. All 112 Utah and Southern Nevada branches will be accepting donations of non-perishable food items to distribute throughout local food pantries and food banks. In addition to the food drive, the credit union will donate $5,000 in turkeys to Utah Food Bank in preparation for the holiday season. All collected items will be donated to the Utah Food Bank, Three Square food bank, Cappallappa Family Reserve Center and Dixie Care and Share. Visit www.americafirst.com.

Easter Seals program offers assistive technology: As part of Easter Seals Nevada's ongoing commitment to assist individuals with disabilities meet their independence goals, it announced the launch of the Nevada Assistive Technology Empowerment program in October, with the goal to bring a one-stop resource to all Nevadans with disabilities to acquire assistive technology, learn about the devices that could help them and view available loan inventory. The NATE Project's assistive technology drive is set to kick off at the Southern Nevada Centers for Independent Living's 24th annual Disability Awareness Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 17 at the East Las Vegas Community Center, 250 N. Eastern Ave. Community members are encouraged to donate any assistive technology they no longer use. LaaRee Drawantz, director of assistive technology at Easter Seals Nevada, is set to lead a discussion about the importance of recycling and reuse of assistive technology. The free event also is set to feature a variety of educational activities, along with live entertainment, wheelchair repair, a free lunch and raffle prizes. Individuals can also donate assistive technology at any time at Easter Seals Nevada, 6200 W. Oakey Blvd. Examples of items needed include power chairs, flat-screen monitors, GPS navigation systems, electronic magnifiers and digital recording devices. Call 702-870-7050 to ensure there is a need for items prior to donation. Visit nateproject.com.

Drive to benefit WestCare Women and Children's Campus: The Haunted Halloween Haul Drive is planned through Oct. 28 to benefit WestCare Nevada's Women and Children's Campus. Items requested are new toys, blankets and clothing, as well as women's clothing and new toiletries, Halloween costumes and unopened bags of candy. Items can be dropped off at donation boxes located inside any of the 15 Las Vegas Valley ATI Physical Therapy locations. Visit atipt.com/nevada.

Furniture, appliance donations sought: The nonprofit New Genesis helps with transitional apartments for the homeless and is in need of furniture and/or small appliance donations. Items such as beds, dressers, tables, chairs, lamps, pots, towels, microwaves, TVs, fans, pictures, kitchen utensils, rugs and couches are welcome. Visit newgenesis.org.

Coats for Kids drive: The 16th annual Sweet 16 Harriet's Coats for Kids drive is happening through Nov. 2. Residents can drop off gently used or new coats at any Las Vegas Valley Albertsons store. The items will be picked up by Aramark Uniform and dry cleaned courtesy of Al Phillips the Cleaner. Donors may fill out a ballot to win two free tickets to this year's show sponsor, Terry Fator at The Mirage. Winners will be drawn at the end of drive. Coats will be distributed by The Salvation Army's Family Services. Call 702-233-2417.