Goodwill Industries has been operating in Winnipeg for 85 years.
The organization takes donations of gently used clothing, furniture and household items.
However, the way it accepts donations is being criticized following a fire at one of its locations.
The fire broke out late Tuesday evening around Goodwill's donation bin, behind the Westwood store on Portage Avenue.Goodwill Industries is being questioned about how they accept donations following at a fire at a Winnipeg location.
The blaze is being investigated as arson by Winnipeg police.
“Someone left a donation behind the building,” Goodwill President Doug McKechnie said. “Someone came along I guess, and rifled through them, and then they threw a match on it."
However, Susan Gustafson, whose mother lives in a condo next door, feels this fire was both predictable and preventable.
“We're not surprised at all,” Gustafson said. “We've had a constant issue for many many years, with the junk that's left here at night.”
People are leaving everything from mattresses, to furniture to clothing outside the store in the evening, she said. At times, she explained, the alley becomes a change room.
Gustafson wants the late night donations to stop.
Goodwill said the only time items should be dropped off, is during business hours.
"If people would drop the stuff off during those hours, it causes us a lot less headaches,” McKechnie said.
