Don’t treat Salvation Army as a dumping ground

Last week, my colleagues and I had a corporate community service and team-bonding session at Salvation Army. We were tasked to sort out donations that people placed at their Donation In Kind booths islandwide. As it was the festive season, many Chinese were doing spring cleaning and this resulted in more donations than usual. It was a seemingly never-ending task, with staff and volunteers bringing in new items continuously.

I would like to share two observations from our experience. First, we saw a wide range of donations, from the brand new to the ones that belong in the trash. It made us question whether we really need to buy so many things and the culture of consumerism, and it is worth reiterating that we should stop buying unnecessary things. Second, I felt the sorting work done by the staff and volunteers is not easy. Yet, they were happy and knew their work was meaningful — and they definitely need more help. Companies and/or schools should consider giving some of their time to volunteer at Salvation Army.