Staff Photo by Dan Henry Carrie McCurdy, a Goodwill Assisted Delivery Center Attendant, distant right, waits for patrons to drop off used items at the Fort Oglethorpe mobile center on Monday.
Charities exist to help the poor, the downtrodden and the desperate.
But at least two such organizations in Tennessee and Georgia say thefts are hurting their ability to carry out their missions, and they’d like the public to help.
Teen Challenge, which operates inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers in the region, says its drop boxes in both states are being raided at an alarming rate. The boxes are collection points for used clothing and goods that later are sold to America’s Thrift Stores.
“Since November, we haven’t made a nickel from the collections because the theft has gone up sky-high,” said Roger Helle, Teen Challenge executive director. “It adds up to one-fifth of our budget that’s been taken from us by people stealing.”
Salvation Army personnel have noticed thefts from the McCallie Avenue offices as well as from in front of their family stores across Chattanooga, spokeswoman Kimberly George said.
“On Sundays, when families are cleaning up at homes, people will drop off items after doing a lot of cleaning,” Ms. George said. “But because our stores are closed on Sunday ... we see people going through those donations. It’s quite a task to clean up from that on Monday.”
The Salvation Army locations in Dalton and Chatsworth, Ga., report similar trouble and have fenced their stores so donors won’t leave items unattended when the stores are closed, said Patricia Thompson, a spokeswoman for the two posts. But thefts still occur, she said.
“Now people leave their items outside the fence by the road, so it’s actually easier to take the items,” she said. “Some of our donors don’t have money to give to us, so these items are their only way of supporting us.”
Staff Photo by Allison Kwesell George Thompson, Jr., right, and Chris Smarekar, unload Teen Challenge donation boxes at the site on Broad Street. Donations centers have recently suffered from people stealing items from the drop-off points.
Mr. Helle at Teen Challenge said theft always has been a concern, but lately it’s gotten worse. So Goodwill now mans every drop-off location in the 23 Tennessee and Georgia counties it services, spokeswoman Angela Smith-Ballard said.
“All of our donation centers are ... manned by a Goodwill attendee any time the center is open,” she said. “That’s simply because we know that anything left in the open is subject to theft and vandalism.”
The charity officials say they don’t know what role the nation’s economic woes might play in the thefts, but they want the public to know that stealing is a crime.
“Five years ago, when America’s Thrift Stores came to town, we partnered with them, and we sell these clothes by weight to the store,” Teen Challenge’s Mr. Helle said. “Taking this from us prevents us from being able to perform our mission.”
HOW IT HURTS
The money from clothing sales pays for about a half dozen jobs for recovering addicts who are graduates of the Teen Challenge program, Mr. Helle said.
Ms. George said sorting and selling the goods collected by the Salvation Army provides job training to needy people, and the proceeds help the organization perform other charitable activities.
Mr. Helle said if someone truly needs charity aid — such as clothing — they can contact America’s Thrift Stores for vouchers. The same goes for the Salvation Army and Goodwill thrift stores, officials said.
Mr. Helle and Ms. George said signs that ask patrons not to leave items outdoors often are ignored. But the signs are there for a good reason, they said, and they’d like the public to adhere to those rules to cut down on thefts.
Anyone who sees someone rooting through a drop box either should confront the person — if it’s safe to do so — call police or contact the charity directly, Mr. Helle said.
Ms. Thompson with the Georgia Salvation Army posts said there is no real way to know how much the charities are losing.
“The thefts have been steady, and who knows if it’s gone up or down, because we aren’t there to monitor what’s being taken from the sidewalk,” she said.
The solution, Ms. Thompson said, is for donors to leave items during normal business hours — even if it’s inconvenient — because a worker can ensure that it gets sorted and sold in the store.
Ms. George said the Salvation Army will pick up larger items at no charge.
“The pickups can help reduce thefts, too,” she said. “Anyone can call in to the family stores to schedule a pickup.”
Ms. George said the problem is not noticed as much at the Salvation Army’s downtown Chattanooga headquarters. That is mostly because a handful of clients who get aid from the Salvation Army’s homeless outreach usually are in the area, she said.
“They are sort of our night patrol,” Ms. George said. “If they see people stealing, they go up to them and say, ‘If you are stealing from the Salvation Army, you are stealing from me.’”
