LESLIE, Mich. (WLNS) — It’s called the Blessing Box and officials in Leslie said it was set up for non-perishable food items and hygiene products.
But lately, people have been donating a lot of other things.
“We’ve been seeing furniture being dropped, a lot of leftover garage sale items and bags of clothes,” said Leslie City Clerk Chelsea Cox.
Cox said incorrect drop-offs happened for the first time last year but in the past week it’s happened three times.
The Blessing Box was installed by the United Methodist Church as a community resource.
With lots of bags filled with items left behind in the area, Cox said, it’s become a bit too much.
“We do not go through the bags to inspect items. Unfortunately, they just get tossed into the garbage, because we don’t have a resource center in the city that we run to do that,” Cox said.
On top of that, the items are usually ruined from being outdoors.
“The clothes get rained on; the furniture gets ruined. None of the stuff is usable and I’m sure some of it is nice stuff that, if donated to the appropriate place, could’ve been very beneficial to someone,” Cox said.
That why she wants people in the city to know the appropriate places to take these kinds of donations.
“We do have the Free Will Project, Harmonious Health & Spa in Leslie, and Volunteers of America and St. Vincent de Paul. This just isn’t the place to put it,” Cox said.
There is also a camera that points directly at the Blessing Box, and Leslie Police Department will be monitoring it closely.
