PAS announces changes to its donation schedule

With too much of a good thing, the Panhandle Animal Shelter Thrift Store has announced a new schedule for donation drop off days. The change will go into effect on Monday, Aug. 1.

This adjustment will assist store employees and volunteers in keeping up with the processing of community donations, said PAS Executive Director Mandy Evans.

For the past five years, the store has been growing in popularity and the donations of gently used items coming to the store have increased substantially, she said.

“PAS has a responsibility to keep costs down and the volunteers happy,” Evans said.

To accommodate the need for more time to process the donated items, the donation collection area will close two days a week, Tuesday and Wednesdays.

“Tuesdays and Wednesdays are our slowest donation drop- off days. We hope closing on the two slowest days will reduce the impact on our community,” said Katherine Deacon, PAS Thrift Store manager.

Regular donation days and times will be Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Deacon said shelter officials understand there are times when donating on a Tuesday or Wednesday may be required and exceptions can be made by appointment. To schedule a time, individuals can call 208-263-0607. 

Why the change in schedule? To put it simply, shelter officials said the quantity of donations coming to the store has tripled but the number of staff members nd volunteer crew have stayed the same. The change will allow staff and volunteers to have more time for sorting, pricing, and stocking merchandise on the days that donations are not being taken. This will assist in getting control of the donation backlog, along with ensuring that shoppers will have a wide and consistent variety of quality merchandise and clothing to choose from at the newly expanded thrift store.

In addition to these changes, PAS has posted a donation guidelines page to the website — www.pasidaho.org/thrift-shop — to help the community understand what can and cannot be sold.

PAS appreciates the community’s understanding and support and would like to welcome people interested in helping to sort through donations.

If you are interested in volunteering, email volunteer@pasidaho.org or call 208-265-7297 ext. 103.