For the last two years, you have probably seen the dozen trailers parked in the shopping center’s lot. We added those during the Covid shutdown period, as donors were purging their closets and cleaning out their excess goods while spending more time at home. Trailers were added to safely store the unsorted goods until we had the hands to sort it.
While donation levels have remained strong, over the last few years we have adjusted our processing procedures and added an evening crew to help keep the merchandise moving forward to our shoppes. We’re happy to report that we continue to make progress in our donation sorting. We no longer keep goods stored outside on the ground on a regular basis, and the inventory within the trailers is of a rotating nature.
We find that the type of donations that create backlogs goes in ‘waves’. In the last few months of 2022, we had trailers of unsorted household goods. Today, we are completely caught up in household goods but now have a significant backlog of unsorted linens in our trailers, along with clothing. Likewise, at different times we have had a significant backlog of books and toys, which we eventually got caught up with. This is the nature of our business.
So while you haven’t seen the trailers moving, know that the contents inside them do! Our volunteers and staff work diligently to keep the products moving forward so the community can put them to good use. We’re thankful for the service of our team members!
