General News
18 September, 2023
Salvos call on community to make safe donations
Syringes and a live mouse are just a few of the unsafe and unhygienic items left in donation bags outside The Maryborough Salvation Army’s Alma Street thrift store this month — and the organisation is urging residents to carefully check through...
Syringes and a live mouse are just a few of the unsafe and unhygienic items left in donation bags outside The Maryborough Salvation Army’s Alma Street thrift store this month — and the organisation is urging residents to carefully check through their donations before dropping them off.
The store accepts donations during opening hours, however over the past two months store manager Ben Lewinsaid there’s been a rise in bags dumped at the front of the store outside of hours, causing management and safety issues for volunteers.
“People in Maryborough are super generous, we get a lot of donations — from what I’ve heard, it’s a lot more than what other stores get. With that you get some amazing things donated, but also some things that are hard work to sort through,” he said.
“Sometimes when we arrive there’s been a lot of donations left overnight out the front which is hard work, especially early in the morning, we just don’t have the volunteers to move and sort it, especially if it’s big, bulky items.
“When it’s dumped, we don’t have the time or people to sift through it properly and that’s when it can potentially get dangerous. Missing something at the wrong moment can become a really big issue really quickly.”
Mr Lewinsaid while it’s a minority of people doing the wrong thing, there have been some hazardous items dropped off recently.
“Some things you find can be dangerous or not sanitary — in the past few week we had a bag with a mouse nest and a live mouse in it,” he said.
“We’ve found syringes, half eaten food, dead animals — the extreme side is a lot to navigate and you do feel concerned for the volunteers having to handle that. They’re coming and giving up their time to help out, then encountering that.
“It’s a very small minority doing this, but it is an issue.”
Mr Lewinsaid he encourages the community to keep bringing donations, but be mindful of what they’re bagging up.
“We’re really grateful for anything people can donate, I’d just ask that you please have a look in the bag before you bring it in, check there’s nothing that could be dangerous in there,” he said.
“Anything people are willing to donate, we’ll do our best to make it work.”
The Salvos take donations of most kinds including electric appliances.
The Maryborough thrift store is located at 80 Alma Street, open 9 am to 4.30 pm Monday to Thursday, 9.30 am to 4.30 pm Fridays, and 9.30 am to 2 pm on Saturdays. Donations can be made during those hours.
If community members are interested in helping out at the store, Mr Lewinsaid there’s a role for everyone.
“It’s a really good team here, anyone is welcome to volunteer even if it’s just for an hour or two,” he said.
“There’s a lot of different roles, if people have specific interests we can work with that — if you’reinterested in books, we’ve got plenty to sort through.”