Money generated from local Salvation Army thrift stores goes a long way in benefitting the community.

The funds are put back into the many programs the Salvation Army offers in the city.

But some people may be doing more harm than good when they drop stuff off at the local thrift stores.

Lt. Stefan Reid said items that are dropped off after hours cannot be used.

Often the items are rummaged through before staff get in in the morning or could be damaged from sitting in the elements all night.

That results in a double whammy for the Salvation Army.

Reid said not only does the Salvation Army have to pay to haul the items away, it also takes money away from programs because the items cannot be sold for sanitary reasons as the items may be contaminated by garbage or other materials.

“We love to help people and if we don't have the donations because we need to throw them out because they are donated after hours, not only does it affect our sales, but more importantly it also affects our community not getting the things that they need,” said Reid.

“What I would like the community to know is the sales from our thrift stores not only goes to help pay our staff and things like that, but more importantly it goes back into our community for our programs like the food bank.”

One of the main programs the Salvation Army runs is the food bank which helps hundreds of people a month.

The Sally Ann also put together several hundred Christmas hampers each year for the city's less fortunate.

Donation hours are 830 a.m. to 4 30 p.m. Monday to Saturday.