Items stolen, property damaged at Convoy of Hope clothing bin

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - You see clothing drop-off boxes all over Springfield, but how often are they broken into? KY3 crews noticed on Wednesday morning that two Convoy of Hope bins on East Sunshine had been broken into.

Springfield Police said they’re reviewing the report of the missing items and the property damage which consists of a hole in the bottom of one of the bins.

Ethan Forhetz with Convoy of Hope said the company that owns the boxes, EZ Bin Springfield, will take the donations to a resale shop and all of the proceeds then go back to the non-profit. KY3 reached out to the company but didn’t receive a response.

Forhetz said it’s disheartening to hear drop-off boxes like this one are getting broken into because a decent amount of money is generated to Convoy of Hope each year.

”Every piece of clothing that comes in here turns into hope for somebody that Convoy of Hope is able to give, whether that’s through our response to a natural disaster like the tornadoes that happened in December or the typhoon that happened recently,” said Forhetz. “When people steal from it, it’s just taking money that would be able to give away to people.”

Convoy of Hope isn’t the only non-profit that’s dealing with this issue. A spokesperson from Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks said last week someone broke into a bin. That totals 15 break-ins in the last 3 months.

The non-profit recycled, resold, or redistributed 750,000 pounds of clothing from their 70 plus bins around Springfield last year.

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