Salvos’ message for generous donors

SALVOS Stores is encouraging anyone donating to the charity bins to do it within store hours.

Following a difficult year for many, donations to Salvos Stores have never been more important.

But in order to best service this need the Salvos are asking people to make the donations within store hours to avoid overflowing bins, items being damaged or items being left haphazardly around the charity bins.

Customer experience manager for Salvos Stores, Aife O’Loughlin, said the organisation was extremely thankful for people’s generosity and the message was important for the donation to fulfil its intended purpose.

“Donations are vital for our organisation and what we ask of the public is they donate to us in opening hours while our team is there and to not leave anything while we’re not there so we can ensure they’re processed properly,” Ms O’Loughlin said.

“We know most people who leave items at our stores have great intentions and don’t realise the impact it can have on the charity … nobody likes to see items left outside stores, it is definitely important to have them processed in a safe manner to ensure they can be put to good use.”

Salvos Stores are open six days a week, with the majority only closing on a Sunday.

Ms O’Loughlin said to check your local store for individual opening hours.

“Give us a call, check-in with the store in your local area. It should only take a couple of minutes for us to help you,” she said.

Ms O’Loughlin encouraged anyone who was doing a holiday cleanout and decluttering the house over summer to think about donating any items that could be put to good use and thanked people for what has been an even more generous period over the festive season than usual.

“Each year around this time we see an increase in donations to our team … if you’re doing a bit of a cleanout at this time of year and there’s something you’re going to throw out but think maybe someone else could benefit from, we’d love to see it assist the community.

“We’re continuing to see Australians wanting to donate and that’s so important for us, that ensures that we have stock to raise the funds that we have.”