IT’S a holiday surprise no one wants to wake up to.
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But staff of Willing & Able Op Shop returned to find looters and lazy dumpers had turned their much-loved charity shop front into a virtual rubbish tip over Christmas.
Workers spent hours sorting through a collection of junk, including everything from rotten food scraps to filthy lounges, littered outside the store’s entrance on Monday morning.
For the charity foundation’s manager Karol O’Brien, the “disgraceful” site came as a shock.
“Who does that?” Ms O’Brien asked on Monday. “It’s like taking your bin and throwing it out on someone’s lawn.”
On the other end of the equation were those thieves visiting the premises at night, aiming to grab an item of worth, stealing from a foundation dedicated to providing gainful employment to intellectually disabled workers in the Hastings.
CCTV footage shows people sifting through items, trying on pieces of clothing and then leaving with their stolen goods.
“Our mission is to provide our workers with employment,” Ms O’Brien said. “When these people steal from us, it risks our ability to run our business, and without this, business people will lose their jobs.”
But the solution to the problem, she said, is somewhat simple: drop off "sellable" items - not household junk - during the organisation’s operating hours.
One community-minded resident, put forward calls for a security fence to be donated to assist the charity in their plight “regarding security and protection of their premises in Jindalee Road”.
Similar fences have been installed at other Op Shops in the Hastings.
At this stage, the foundation simply could not afford to install the needed infrastructure that Ms O’Brien said would “make a huge difference” to the situation.
“We get a lot of help from the community,” she said. “But spending hours sorting through junk like we’ve had to today - it’s not good for the guys working, it’s not good for anyone.”
At the time of going to print, the business had been contacted by one party interested in helping out. If you would like to get involved contact Karol O’Brien on 6581 0939.
The Op Shop will not be able to resell goods that are:
* Stained
* Ripped
* In need of repair
* Not in working order
* Dirty (including covered with pet fur)
