So, we’re now stooping to stealing from donation bins designed to help sick and dying children. Really?
Is this what it has come to? If you read our story on page 8, apparently it has.
Are people really that desperate that they have to pounce with a motorbike, bankjob-style, to “getaway” with four or five bags of, let’s face it, what is most probably second-hand clothes that have seen better days.
In retrospect, let’s hope the people who dropped those soon-to-be-stolen bags off were of the selfish/stupid nature and did — instead of properly recycling or disposing of their unwanted items (which would have zero resale value for Canuck Place Children’s Hospice) — just dump them at the over-flowing bin out of pure laziness.
With that in mind, you have to wonder how much benefit the charities in question get out of these bins?
You can just imagine, despite seeing with almost regular monotony said bins busting at their seams with “donations,” that these giant drop-off boxes are chock full of utter garbage.
Sure, there will be a few bags of gems in a mountain of junk, the likes of which you usually find at thrift stores and garage sales.
But there’s usually a good reason for it being in that bag or in the garage in the first place...it’s junk/served its purpose/doesn’t work.
I guess it’s a cost-effective way for the charities to earn some much-needed funds, as opposed to scouring the city for a philanthropic landlord, who’ll cut you slack on rent on your thrift store and pitch in for hydro.
Perhaps it’s time to re-think this particular donation model, especially in increasingly crammed cities such as Richmond where, only a few weeks ago, the News reported how the City of Richmond has had to take steps to curb the unregulated proliferation of the bins, many of which are magnets for illegal dumping.
Hell, the day after we published that story, broken pushchairs and suitcases were discarded at the donation bin in our office parking lot! Clearly, the dumpers were not News readers, or maybe we just gave them the idea?
Whatever the case, evidently it’s not working.
Not for the businesses who either have to clean up the mess created by the would-be benefactors or have to stare at it from their office or store windows all day long.
And not for the charities, who must spend countless hours wading through pairs of Sunday jeans (holey), which are trendy again by the way, giveaway promotion beer hats and left shoes (rights missing) in the vain hope of finding something that someone else might want to pay $2 for.
So, if you see this weekend around Richmond a pair of middle-aged bikers riding into the church parking lot wearing old jeans, a Budweiser cap and only left boots, give them a wave and let’s hope they don’t fall off while waving back. Not.
Alan Campbell is a reporter with the Richmond News. Reach him at [email protected]
