The Delta Youth Support Link Society (DYSL) board of directors has reached out with an urgent plea to the community – please stop dropping off donations.
DYSL operates a charity thrift store on 56th in Tsawwassen. Due to COVID-19, they have shut down the store and are no longer accepting donations. Despite this, the store is still being inundated with donations, with people piling up their household items on the sidewalk and back entrance of the store.
“This is putting our store staff and volunteers at risk - many of whom are seniors or elderly,” said Bridgitte Taylor in an email to the Optimist. “Due to our business property laws, our store is liable for maintaining the sidewalk and garbage, putting us in a situation where we are unsure how to deal with the continued flow of items.
“We do not expect our staff or volunteers to deal with the donations, as they do not have property safety equipment to handle the potential risk of COVID-19. In addition, our thrift store is the main source of income for our organization. It pays for our operating costs and goes towards our annual bursary fund for Delta high school students. If donations do not seize, we will be forced to look into hiring an external removal company and potentially face bylaw fines by both the city and/or property manager.”
