Heading into the year-end giving season, Goodwill Hawaii is experiencing an unusual squeeze: more shoppers than ever relying on its stores for affordable goods, but fewer donations coming in — especially clothing and linens — as households recover from a turbulent fall marked by the federal shutdown, layoffs and rising costs.

“We’ve experienced some decreases, particularly in the clothing and linen side,” CEO Katy Chen said. “We really need more clothing and linens to be donated, and I hope the community can really come out to support all our Goodwill stores statewide.”

Chen said that while donations typically dip during tough economic times, the drop-off this year has been sharper, especially on Oahu and Hawaii island.

“It’s always a difficult thing, because when the need is the greate

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