Cellar Treasures, the thrift store that operates out of the basement of the St. Christopher’s and St. Aidan’s Anglican Church on Cowichan Ave., has experienced an influx of donations since the thrift store at the United Church closed at the end of May.
This would not be a problem, except for the fact that much of what has been dropped off is either dirty, broken, and in some cases, plain old garbage.
“I think some people just see it as an easy solution to getting rid of their trash,” said Rev. David Peterson.
He says that another contributing factor to the rise in unusable donations could be due to the fact that it is garage sale season, and those who are left with items after a garage sale might think leaving these items at the thrift store is an easier solution than taking them to the dump.
Peterson does not want to send the wrong message to the community. He and other church members appreciate community support and there are many perfectly good items that come into the store, but lately there has been a considerable spike in the amount of left on the church’s doorstep.
“We’ve seen strollers with baby food dried and stuck on them, dirty diapers, cast-off underwear, things with mould on them and even items with fleas,” said Peterson.
The other issue is that people are dumping their donations on Saturday evenings, often on the wheelchair ramp. This means that come Sunday morning, there is a scramble of activity to try and clear the ramp for those who use it so they can attend Sunday service.
This also means that people are picking through the bags, often ripping them open, taking what they want, and leaving a mess behind them.
“We would like to ask that people respect the drop-off bins and keep them tidy. We would also like to ask that people bring in their donations on Wednesday (during thrift store hours),” said Peterson.
This way thrift store volunteers can make sure that all items are in good condition and can be sold.
“It’s funny, peoples’ reactions,” said Peterson. “They say we’re very particular. Well, we are a bit particular, we want to sell quality items. We want to sell stuff that is safe and usable.”
The church relies on the funds generated from the thrift store to help keep the church afloat, pay for general maintenance and upkeep of the building, and pay salaries, “or wherever we are not making ends meet.”
Cellar treasures is open Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays through the month of August. Donations will be accepted on Wednesdays only.
