The myths of Value Village's value
Many people donate their used clothing and household items to Value Village.
The general idea is that somehow donating to Value Village helps those in need, there are varying myths surrounding if or how this actually works. I am here to debunk at least some of these myths.
Myth #1) That Value Village provides inexpensive items which would help people with a low income shop for their homes.
Fact) Value Village generally charges rather high for their products, they also have (at some locations anyways) a very bad habit of putting dirty, stained and generally poor products on their shelves.
Myth #2) That Value Village donates the money they make to charitable causes.
Fact) Value Village is "The world's largest FOR PROFIT thrift store chain"
Myth #3) Big Brothers, Canadian Diabetes society and others who pick up donations sell the items and keep the profit for their causes.
Fact) These groups pick up the donations at their costs, VV goes through and then pays on a per box/bag rate for the items they will sell. The quality or value of the items themselves is not taken into account.
What can you do to help?
To start, if you just want to get rid of a lot of stuff, Salvation Army Thrift Stores not only have better prices to help shoppers with low incomes, but the money they make from selling items goes directly back into social programs the Sally Ann provides to communities all across the country.
My personal favourite (which really only works if you are in the Lower Mainland of BC) is the Richmond Shares website . It is a cooperation of the Poverty Response Committee, other agencies and members of the community in Richmond, BC.
You can list items you have to donates on the site, after that point the various social agencies who are partnered, as well as low income individuals seeking items, will browse the site and contact you (only the agencies will have access to your contact information so it is not listed in a public manner). This method is really most beneficial if you are wanting to make sure your used items are going to go to people who really need them.
So at the end of the day, if you are simply looking to get rid of items conveniently without too much concern for where they go, VV is right for you. However if you want to rest assured that the items you donate are going to help people every step of their way I hope you will consider one of the other options such as the Salvation Army, or if you're in the Lower Mainland of BC, Richmond Shares.
posted by Kiki @ 10:17 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Great letter! It's too bad more people aren't aware of VV's practices. Take the time to find thrift stores that have volunteers, not paid staff that rifle through things for themselves.They also have the highest prices on books,china, etc. Seems they think they are running an antique store. They do NOT help folks who are in need. I donate a lot, and take my items to any hospice thrift store or the MCC (Mennonite Thrift Store) I will drive past a VV location and sometimes travel for miles to donate to these thrift stores. It makes me feel good to know that my donation is really helping someone. My favourite is the Burnaby Hospice and Thrift Store on Kingsway. Check it out.
I understand your concern but as a worker for Value Village (I work as an On-Site Donation attendant) most of these mythbusters have reasons for it. Because of the high levels of donations we get in which is obviously more than that of the Salvation Army, we cannot always go through and inspect every product, and price it accordingly. Most poor products are disposed of but there is always a time when a product is put on the floor. We do donate our money to charitable causes but not all of it. We're a company. We do pick up the donations from Big Brothers, Canadian Diabetes, and DDA, but we do not pay by bag or box, we pay by weight. We cannot go through every single item as there is not enough time in a working day to do so and there are other jobs to do. Just trying to clear some things up.
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