Yes, we're open for donations!

Orange’s Salvation Army Family Store wants to clear up any confusion: yes, they are open for donations… just not all of the time.

Salvation Army Family Store manager Colin Barnes said it is a regular complaint he hears; that people come to give items to the Salvo Store, but find the Peisley Street entrance closed for donations.

He said while they are generally open during the hours posted on the doors, some days they just can’t manage to process items as quickly as they come in.

“We are open for donations between 10am and 2pm Monday to Friday,” said Col. “But if we happen to get chock-a-block on a day, we might have to put the closed sign out.”

The main reason for having to close the doors during these hours is simply that there are not enough people to sort through it all.

“We just don't have the volunteers to process it, the room or the time to process it — that's the big reason,” said Col.

“We can't process the donations quick enough to get them in the shop, because we don't have enough volunteers.

“That's also the reason we open at 10am, because most of our volunteers don't get here until 9am so we have an hour to empty the previous days' donations and get everything ready to open at 10am. Then by 2pm, most of those volunteers are gone, so we just can't take any more after than period of time.”

“All donations are very much appreciated,” said Col, who asked people to be patient when they find the closed sign in the doorway.

“We are here to help the community, to help those in need,” he said.

A little tip for shoppers looking to nab a bargain at the Salvo Store; look out for the ‘colour of the week’. Every item in the store is colour-coded and each week a different colour is discounted by 50 per cent across the store!