by Lisa Goudy
A Moose Jaw shelter hopes to refill a donation recycling bin that was left empty by recent thefts.
The entire blue bin of recyclables outside of the Moose Jaw Humane Society was first stolen about a week and a half ago. The recycling program is a major source of fundraising for the humane society, generating about $10,000 annually, or an average of $300 to $500 per week.
"It's really been quite a bit of a blow to us here, not only because of the money that we're losing from people stealing from the bin but also because of the time and effort that's put into this as well," said Karla Pratt, the fundraising and promotions co-ordinator at the Moose Jaw Humane Society.
She said volunteers and staff members work hard to sort everything in their garage area and take the recyclable empties to SARCAN roughly once or twice per week. Staff at the humane society do not understand why a person would steal from a charitable organization.
"It kind of boggles our minds and we've been shaking our heads at it, honestly," she said.
She explained that normally in the afternoons, staff or volunteers check the blue bin and empty it out to the best of their abilities. But people can drop off recyclables at any time, including occasionally after hours. Recently the theft levels have escalated and Pratt said they believe it might be the same person the last couple of weeks.
She also said when a worker came to the shelter once in the evening to let out the dogs, the bin was emptied by the time the worker came back out.
"The bin does hold quite a bit of recycling and having it disappear pretty much entirely in the span of a few hours type of thing, somebody's probably got an accomplice, I think," said Pratt.
The chain locking the bin shut was also damaged, as was the locking device at the back of the bin used for emptying it. Both of these need to be replaced. The method of theft is unknown at this point.
Pratt said the thefts have been reported to the Moose Jaw Police Service but there is no piece of identification from the culprits, such as a licence plate.
The Moose Jaw Police Service couldn't comment but a spokesperson said it was possible the report of the theft had not been entered in the system yet.
The humane society is asking the public not to drop off donations after hours for both the recycling program and garage sale items or to bring them into the building.
Pratt said they are busy with extra fundraising to make up for these losses, and the bin is now going to be checked almost hourly to try and prevent future theft and vandalism.
The humane society is planning to install extra lighting and security cameras to "ward off people who are taking advantage of us."
"You really hate to think there's a couple bad apples spoiling it for everybody else because it is such a good fundraiser for the shelter," said Pratt. "People have been very generous in the community here."
A Moose Jaw shelter hopes to refill a donation recycling bin that was left empty by recent thefts.
The entire blue bin of recyclables outside of the Moose Jaw Humane Society was first stolen about a week and a half ago. The recycling program is a major source of fundraising for the humane society, generating about $10,000 annually, or an average of $300 to $500 per week.
"It's really been quite a bit of a blow to us here, not only because of the money that we're losing from people stealing from the bin but also because of the time and effort that's put into this as well," said Karla Pratt, the fundraising and promotions co-ordinator at the Moose Jaw Humane Society.
She said volunteers and staff members work hard to sort everything in their garage area and take the recyclable empties to SARCAN roughly once or twice per week. Staff at the humane society do not understand why a person would steal from a charitable organization.
"It kind of boggles our minds and we've been shaking our heads at it, honestly," she said.
She explained that normally in the afternoons, staff or volunteers check the blue bin and empty it out to the best of their abilities. But people can drop off recyclables at any time, including occasionally after hours. Recently the theft levels have escalated and Pratt said they believe it might be the same person the last couple of weeks.
She also said when a worker came to the shelter once in the evening to let out the dogs, the bin was emptied by the time the worker came back out.
"The bin does hold quite a bit of recycling and having it disappear pretty much entirely in the span of a few hours type of thing, somebody's probably got an accomplice, I think," said Pratt.
The chain locking the bin shut was also damaged, as was the locking device at the back of the bin used for emptying it. Both of these need to be replaced. The method of theft is unknown at this point.
Pratt said the thefts have been reported to the Moose Jaw Police Service but there is no piece of identification from the culprits, such as a licence plate.
The Moose Jaw Police Service couldn't comment but a spokesperson said it was possible the report of the theft had not been entered in the system yet.
The humane society is asking the public not to drop off donations after hours for both the recycling program and garage sale items or to bring them into the building.
Pratt said they are busy with extra fundraising to make up for these losses, and the bin is now going to be checked almost hourly to try and prevent future theft and vandalism.
The humane society is planning to install extra lighting and security cameras to "ward off people who are taking advantage of us."
"You really hate to think there's a couple bad apples spoiling it for everybody else because it is such a good fundraiser for the shelter," said Pratt. "People have been very generous in the community here."
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