LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — For years, clothing donation bins have been a helpful resource for non-profit organizations, but recent acts of vandalism in the area have been making it harder for people to access them.
"We got a call from the business owner that the bin was set on fire overnight. The Little Rock Fire Department had already responded and put the fire out," explained Daniel Leslie, the marketing manager for American Textile Recycling Service (ATRS).
James Mckinney, an employee at Edwards Food Giant, explained how it took about two hours to entirely clean up the debris and place it on the back of his truck.
Another bin in a nearby area was also set on fire the week before. However, Leslie explained that fires aren't the only issues that they've been dealing with.
"They've gotten in the bin somehow, some way, and relieved themselves in the bin, even using the clothes to clean, just stuff that we've had to clean up," Leslie said.
While the bins can be replaced, the donations inside them cannot, and each clothing donation bin can hold about 250 pounds of clothes.
Kristen Koenigsfest with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arkansas explained how when people do things to damage items in the bins, that in turn hurts their organization.
"For us, it's sustainable funding that we receive monthly. So it's detrimental that if we're losing some of the clothing and the bins, then that's less funding that we'll receive for that month," Koenigsfest said. "It helps us to keep doing what we're doing, which is matching kids in Central Arkansas with a volunteer or Big, a mentor that helps them to figure out really great things about themselves, build their confidence, improve their grades, and approve their attendance at school."
While there are now measures in place to keep incidents like these from happening, Leslie and Koenigfest have asked for people to consider stepping up to help.
"The more bins the ATRS is able to put out there, the more businesses that are open to that, the more it, in turn, helps our organization and we can work with more kids here," Koenigsfest described.