There is no other way to describe it but appalling.
Last week, New to You, the Bulkley Valley District Hospital Auxiliary’s thrift store, stopped taking donations.
Why?
Because some people simply have no respect.
For whatever reasons, and we’re quite sure there are a few (laziness, ignorance, bigotry etc.), too many of the donations they were receiving included outright garbage, some of which has even been hazardous such as broken glass and soiled diapers.
It cost the store $1,000 last month just to cart the stuff to the dump.
Let’s put this in perspective.
The store’s entire business model is to take in donations of gently used clothing, bedding, housewares and other saleable items, reselling those items and donating the money to the hospital.
If they’re not taking in donations, they don’t have stuff to sell and they’re not donating to the hospital.
If they’re spending money on tipping fees, that is money not going to the hospital.
There are a couple of key terms here: ‘gently used’ and ‘saleable.’
It’s not rocket science to figure out what that means.
If it’s beaten up, broken, torn or otherwise unusable, it is neither gently used nor saleable.
It is disrespectful to the volunteers.
Would you want to go through garbage when you’re giving up your own time to give back to the community?
It is disrespectful to the people who shop there.
If it is not good enough for you to use, it’s not good enough for them.
Common sense, really.
Come on, Smithers, we’re better than this.