Thrift store responds to spate of vandalism

WASILLA — Vandalism at a local non-profit thrift store has forced a change in business practices.

John Rozzi, CEO of Valley Charities Inc., which runs the turn-A-leaf thrift store across from the Wasilla Post Office, said that the store’s 24-hour donation area has been a regular target of Wasilla’s vandals, a trend that has increased substantially of late.

“We normally experience things like this once every couple of weeks or so, but now it’s been almost every day,” Rozzi said. “At least two to three times a week.”

Vandals have smashed up donated furniture and torn open bags of donated clothes. They tipped over a big-screen TV, smashing it on the ground. They spread clothes all over the parking lot.

It got so bad, Rozzi said, that other aspects of the charity, like its program to loan out medical equipment or coordinate vouchers to get people free clothes, have suffered.

“The amount of time that it takes to clean up all of the messes of ripped up bags and damaged furniture and other things, that takes away from us being able to invest hours into helping people with medical equipment,” Rozzi said. “It takes hours away from folks being able to keep equipment maintained and cleaned.”

The clothing voucher program is also labor-intensive and requires a lot of man-hours. So does sorting the clothing — or at least what clothing is left when the vandals are done.

“We need more people to do what we’ve been doing in the past and at the same time there are things that just don’t get done and then we’re behind,” Rozzi said.

And then there’s the lost revenue.

“Unfortunately, the majority of quality donations are damaged beyond being sellable in the thrift store,” Rozzi says in a press release regarding the vandalism.

So the store has decided to slash its donation hours. People with items to donate can bring them by the store between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. seven days a week. Any other time of day the store’s gates will be locked.

Donation bins are also at Three Bears on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, at Spenard Builders Supply in Wasilla, at the Shell gas station at Parks Highway and Vine Road and at the Christ First United Methodist Church at Knik-Goose Bay Road and Fairview Loop.

Rozzi said he’s reported each and every act of vandalism to the Wasilla Police Department.

Officer Rick Manrique was one of the officers who investigated an incident of vandalism. He thinks it was a few weeks ago.

At first, he said, store employees thought the vandal had broken down the store’s fence. It turned out the guy who moves the store’s dumpster had done that damage. But there were other items damaged that night.

Manrique said turn-A-leaf has a “moderate” vandalism problem — not necessarily worse than other downtown businesses. But thrift stores are something of a target for after-hours theft.

“The thrift stores do have a tendency to attract our homeless crowd who go through to do the late-night shopping,” Manrique said.

A lot of times, Manrique said, by the time the clothes are put on shelves some of the best stuff has already been stolen.

Rozzi said he hopes locking the gates will keep the vandals at bay.

“I think it will,” he said. “Hopefully this will be curtailed. We may have to take other measures now if they jump over the fence.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.