A beloved community charity shop is on the verge of closing its doors forever after staff were blindsided by a “heinous donation” infested with bed bugs. A Daylesford Community Op Shop volunteer made the horrifying discovery earlier this month after opening a bag filled with what appeared to be some kind of fabric.
Before she even had a chance to delve inside, a large swarm of bed bugs emerged and crawled up her arm. As many people would expect, the woman, who suffered bites across her body, is “traumatised”, fellow volunteer Michelle Clifford told the ABC.
“It’s horrendous, heinous [and] abhorrent,” she said, adding she feared the donation was intentional.
“If they didn’t know, it would have just been eggs in there that wouldn’t have hatched.
“I’m trying to remain on the positive side and think they didn’t know, or that they donated it out of desperation, that they didn’t know how to get rid of it.”
The fallout has been huge, with the Victorian shop forced to close its doors minutes after the disturbing find.
All of the stock inside has been removed, and much of it — including the infested donation and others suspected of infestation — was destroyed.
In an online post on Tuesday, the business revealed it had forked out almost $5,500 for a commercial hazmat clean, with a second spray planned.
By stripping the op shop bare, volunteers estimate that a total of $8,000 to $10,000 worth of goods was lost.
Up to $10,000 worth of stock had to be ditched. Source: Daylesford Community Op Shop/Facebook
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Op shop on the verge of closing after single ‘abhorrent’ donation
The Daylesford business’s future now hangs in the balance, with staff desperately scrambling to raise the $8,000 a month needed to keep the store afloat.
“This single abhorrent donation has impacted DCOS significantly and may mean we have to cease trading if we can’t get our cash reserves to a manageable figure again,” workers wrote on a GoFundMe that has so far raised more than $3,600.
“As a not-for-profit organisation, without a large operational surplus, this is a major setback — not only for us, but the community as a whole.”
Locals have rallied around the shop, which held a community barbecue on Sunday.
Although an incredible $11,386 has been raised in just over a week, there is still a long way to go.
“Our op shop will be closed until early February with no income,” the GoFundMe states.
“We are now asking for our community’s assistance to help us recover from this major setback.”
The business is now asking for letters of support for grant applications.
“We have been dealt a major blow, and without outside help, we may seriously be on the verge of closing,” staff said.
“Even though our income has stopped, our outgoings are still there — so rent, utilities, etc still need to be covered.”
The incident comes just weeks after a Queensland Vinnies worker, Corrie Johnston, discovered a tiny two-month-old Chihuahua puppy in a donation crate.
Long-time Vinnies volunteer Corrie Johnston found a puppy inside a donation crate in Kingaroy, Queensland. Source: St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland/Corrie Johnston
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