The holiday shopping season is over, but you may see some lines at thrift stores as the year comes to an end.  Brent Watkins works at a Goodwill store in Cedar Rapids and said it’s the busiest time of the year. “It’s a crazy time, but it’s crazy good because a lot of people think of us when they are thinking of their year-end donations,”  Watkins said. Workers were unloaded bags and bags of items Monday as cars pulled in.

Watkins said people are donating now to get a right off on their 2013 taxes. “The IRS says that you can get a tax deduction for charitable giving, and of course the things people bring to us do qualify as a donation to charity,” Watkins said. Workers estimated by the end of the day Monday  about 600 people will have donated items.

Watkins will have a full staff on hand today to handle what could be double what they saw Monday. “Especially on New Year’s Eve, it gets really busy,” Watkins said.

Whether people are donating just to get rid of things or to get that much-desired tax deduction, Goodwill said it’ll gladly handle the end of the year donation dash.

Many charities are looking forward to seeing the end of the year donations. The Salvation Army in Cedar Rapids is still hoping to reach its red kettle goal, as are other Salvation Army Corps in the state. Donations sent in the mail and postmarked today will meet the 2013 tax deadline.

(Reporting by Jill Kasparie, KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids)