Pantagraph.com | News | Local agencies concerned by national clothing drive

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

to M.L. wrote on Sep 1, 2007 10:53 PM:

" I am glad to hear from someone with first hand knowledge of Home Sweet Home Mission. We give almost all our donations of clothing, small furniture and household items to them and reading the comments out here about other charities was making me wonder how the Mission handled its donations. I'm glad to hear it's handled appropriately and that some items are given to the people who need them most. Thanks for posting. "

M.L. wrote on Sep 1, 2007 9:13 PM:

" I have sorted as a volunteer at Home Sweet Home. Nobody including volunteers or emp.'s are allowed to take stuff, they are very strict about that. Local agencies just want people to understand the differences. when items are donated locally they provide five things: Opportunities to get good clothes at low prices, Mission Mart gives lots of clothes away for free when people can't pay, it creates money to feed people at the shelter, and it provides volunteer and employment opportunities. We should support our local people first! "

to Home sweet home~ wrote on Sep 1, 2007 3:29 PM:

" I've donated some authentic designer bags to HSH before; maybe other people do as well. If you care about such things, you might want to see if the Prada is really authentic. It's not publicized enough (unfortunately) that people selling counterfeit designer goods are forwarding that money to terrorist groups and other organized crime groups. On the subject of sorting donations: I can't believe people would be dumb enough to donate soiled undergarments! If anything needs a repair (like missing stitches), I don't even donate it. Donations are to help people, not so you can dispose of your trash!! "

Re: yaya wrote on Sep 1, 2007 1:37 PM:

" I am concerned with where my items go because if it is quite usable then I feel it should be used. There are to many people out there that could use a good item of clothing so I hate to see a good item turned in to a rag or a stuffing for a speaker. "

to hmmm wrote on Sep 1, 2007 8:35 AM:

" I don't know about the salary of executives at Goodwill or home Sweet Home, but I do know that Salvation Army's are not well paid. We give monetarily to them and get a statement that shows where your money goes. The "head guy" made something like $36,000 last year. I do not know about the Goodwill or Salvation Army, but I used to separate donations at the mission. The volunteers had first pick of items they wanted for themselves and could take the items with no charge. After the second night of seeing volunteers leaving with bags of donated items, I quit going and quit donating there. Also, since I was there as part of a group, I knew the people personally and none of them were "in need". Maybe the sorters should be people down on their luck with a need (single parent working to make ends meet for example) who earn tickets or something for the amount of items they are allowed to "shop" for at no charge by the amount of time they have worked. "

Gasp wrote on Sep 1, 2007 8:27 AM:

" Not someone trying to make a profit. That is so wrong! We should outlaw profit. "

Ya-Ya sister wrote on Sep 1, 2007 12:09 AM:

" Why on earth would anyone who does not want or need an item be concerned about who gets it after the donation is made? My vote goes to the earth friendly red bin folks who have saved landfill space. Go green! "

Sam wrote on Aug 31, 2007 11:18 PM:

" I agree that our local places could be more accessible. I have never had anything removed when I've made donations to the Mission. The fellows actually stood there and watched, then asked if I wanted a receipt. This has happened many times. The Goodwill bins were quite convenient, but people abused them and too many things were ruined to make them worthwhile. I think most people will use the handiest and most helpful place to make my donations, regardless of whether the things stay in our city. "

JJ wrote on Aug 31, 2007 11:05 PM:

" I use to love to go to Goodwill, it was a adventure at what I'd fine, and I would have encouraged people to donate. But, even though they are helping others, I stopped. I cringe at the prices they are now charging. I'm serious about this. There are things there you can actually get cheaper at WalMart or Kmart and Goodwill is mainly used items. Or new but I can get cheaper at store sidewalk sales. When I donate, it's with the thought that someone that hasn't a lot of extra money can go there and get things at an affordable price. Goodwill needs to get a little less greedier. Go to the Salvation Army, and get it for about the third of the price. And donate your stuff there. And, I agree. Drop off places should be more convenient. "

just wondering.. wrote on Aug 31, 2007 10:42 PM:

" I shop at the local thrift stores and have made donations to all of them at one time or another. Just wondering though ...it seems that the Mission Mart seems to have the same old stuff for long periods of time in spite of all the donations. I realize that donations go to their other stores as well....but what happens to all that is donated but never shows up in the store? Do employees get to pick what they want before putting items out for sale? Just curious... "

Why Agencies Sort wrote on Aug 31, 2007 10:37 PM:

" My son volunteered at Goodwill one time and sorted donations. In his 4 hour shift he came across several bags containing very soiled underwear. "

I shop at Jewel-Osco wrote on Aug 31, 2007 9:13 PM:

" on Cottage ave in Normal. They have a truck parked over by the recycle bins every weekend. Those donations go to the good will! "

Home sweet home~ wrote on Aug 31, 2007 6:48 PM:

" Is a wonderful place to drop donations. Another suggestion would be the Jesus house? I hav'nt, but I plan to call soon to ask. I like to spread the donations around. I like to donate and shop at these stores. I got a brand new Prada bag for 15 dollars once. Awsome!! "

to: agencys hurt themselves wrote on Aug 31, 2007 6:18 PM:

" We regularly drop off donations to the Home Sweet Home Mission and have never had to stand around waiting for them to sort out what we brought. We accumulate items in bags and boxes until we have a trunk full, then drop it off at HSH on lunch break one day or after work, and they just give us a receipt (if we want one, we don't always ask for one), and we're on our way. They usually help us unload the car and carry stuff the [very] short distance to the building too. I've heard too many stories about Goodwill throwing away or rejecting perfectly good items to ever give to them. We've been giving to the HSH now for about 3 years and never once did the drop-off process take more than a few minutes. "

Don't dwell on it wrote on Aug 31, 2007 6:12 PM:

" Why worry about what happens to the clothing after you dump them? We really don't know where anything goes, including money. So if you feel the need to dump unused clothing, just do it and then after that don't think about it! "

Hmm wrote on Aug 31, 2007 5:44 PM:

" I think most alleged 'non-profits' only profit the upper echelon leaderships of the organizations. Why do they expect me to volunteer, when they have enough money to pay their execs 6/7 figure salaries. Those same salaries being paid for by them selling clothes that we donate to the poor. "

Clinton Mom wrote on Aug 31, 2007 5:31 PM:

" I just had a brain storm. What if you were to bag the clothes by sex/size and offered it in the Good Neighbor column. When you put the ad in there you don't have to put your phone # you just wait for someone to answer then call them. If you didn't want to give out your address you could arrange to meet them at a Mc Donald's. Some people might answer just to get them and sell them at garage sales but the clothes will be out of your way and they will help someone locally. "

Fyi wrote on Aug 31, 2007 5:28 PM:

" Why is it that Normal will take the time to drive around stealing signs from yards, but not instead call the numbers on the signs and ask to move them? However they worry about collection boxes on private property, but not enforce rules requiring structure maintenance such as painting/broken windows/leaning buildings...starting to look like Decatur...but at least it doesn't smell yet. "

bill g wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:58 PM:

" look people, just because someone is making a profit does not make them evil, and non-profits are not necessarily saints. all the charities sell your precious clothes to rag makers. and the for profit company is keeping some garbage out of our Bloomington landfill. "

Frustrated wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:53 PM:

" To Sabrina Burkiewicz from Home Sweet Home.....If you are so concerned about about the red bins, then do something about it and make it easier for us to donate and put bins out across town instead of whining about it. Most people are going to take the convenience of having those bins to get rid of our things over having to put up with the hassle of what we have to put up with going to the facilities even if it is for profit and our things could be made into rags etc. So you charities out there do something about it and quit complaining. "

Mission Mart wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:35 PM:

" I donated several boxes of clothing and household items to Mission Mart on a recent Saturday afternoon. They were friendly, helped me unload my van, and I was on my way before I knew it. Nothing inconvenient about it! "

Fraud wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:31 PM:

" Fraud is when someone misrepresents what they are doing to make a profit off the uninformed. I have not noticed anything on the bins to indicate who they were for, but I naturally assumed some charity. These are scammers and my future donations will go to the trash before I support this group. "

its a shame wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:18 PM:

" if you read the one paragraph above, the clothes you are donating in this bin are possibly shredded for insulation for speakers, torn apart into rags, or taken to third world countires and SOLD! ... they aren't being given to anyone in the US to assist them with needs. i do agree that some of the other agencies have made it somewhat difficult to donate - maybe this will help them see people would be willing to do more if given the proper outlets. "

I had wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:18 PM:

" no idea that the clothes put into these bins were being turned in to rags or other things. I have put some pretty nice items in the bins- no more. I do agree that the Goodwill is hard to get in to but I would rather do that than to have usable stuff just wasted. I know it is not good practice but if you drop stuff at the store when they are closed it is much easier. I honestly wish that the Goodwill would move to a much larger place. "

agencys hurt themselves wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:17 PM:

" I think the local agencys hurt themselves when they removed their collection bins. I'm sure they did it to avoid "unwanted" items that they had to pay to discard. However, it is very hard to get in and out of Goodwill, so I won't go there. Plus, I don't have time to wait at other agencys while they sort, pick and choose what they want. I was glad to see the red bins around town knowing I finally had a convenient place to drop items off at. "

Donate??? wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:16 PM:

" You folks that are using these "donation" boxes may as well throw your clothes in the trash! This is a FOR PROFIT company! Do you really want your good used clothing to be ground up to make speakers? Or for rags? Next time I have used clothes, I will take them to an agency that actually helps PEOPLE! "

Love 'em! wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:10 PM:

" I have used the red bins and love them. Their design and size make them challenging to dumpster dive in or to leave undesirables like broken t.v.'s in - which I had seen in one of the old Goodwill donation boxes. I would rather donate to a local agency, but convenience wins this round! "

to Convenience wrote on Aug 31, 2007 4:00 PM:

" I agree with you. We live in Clinton and I loved the bins here so that I could donate my kid's clothes. I had several bags of clothes, most still had tags still on them. I went to the mission mart here in clinton. The politely declined because they had just recieved a truck load of items and had absolutely no room for mine. They suggested a local church but noone was there at the time. I was making a trip to Gibson City and took them to the Shepherd's Closet there and they were very apprceative (sp?). I agree with the store donations in Bloomington. Parking is bad at all of them. "

Dorothy wrote on Aug 31, 2007 3:00 PM:

" I was approached by a man from this company asking to put a collection bin on my site. He said that the clothes would be donated and that the company is non-profit. He also said that the company would take care of the bin. The ones I've noticed around town are unsightly and appear unkept. I declined because I felt that if Goodwill no longer had offsite, unmonitored drop bins, there must be a reason, namely people put garbage in them, people dumpster dive them, etc. "

I had wondered... wrote on Aug 31, 2007 2:33 PM:

" I was wonderintg who had put the bins throughout town so I could thank them. When Goodwill had bins I used theirs as well. It is not very convenient to go to the actual thrift stores to donate, parking your vehicle is atrocious. "

Convenience wrote on Aug 31, 2007 2:20 PM:

" Every try going to a place like Goodwill and make an honest attempt to donate? They are the absolutel worst at treating donors well and make you feel like you are dumping on them if you try to take donations to them or I have been there when they flat out refuse to accept perfectly good clothes and household items. I guess I will seek alternatives if the locals do not want to appreciate the generous donations that are trying to be made by people. "

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