DCOS IS ON THE VERGE OF CLOSURE!

Our beloved Community Opshop in Daylesford has recently experienced a heinous donation which was infested with bed bugs. Sadly, one volunteer was personally impacted but thankfully, no items made it into shop. The donation was opened & the oppie was closed immediately in line with the OH&S policy.

When the incident occurred, all OH&S compliance recommendations from Dept of Health and Springs Medical were strictly followed.

To date, it has cost us around $8000 for commercial hazmat cleaning along with the safe removal of all clothes, linens, manchester, hats, bags and soft toys. Out of an abundance of caution everything has been removed and sent to a separate facility for safe disposal. As well as conducting 2 pest control sprays, we have also spent around $800 on body and clothing wash products.

This single abhorrent donation has impacted DCOS significantly and may mean we have to cease trading if we can’t get our cash reserves to a manageable figure again..

Not only has it cost us significantly in commercial cleaning costs & volunteering, but also what the future might look like – if there is a future! As a Not-for-profit organisation, without a large operational surplus, this is a major setback – not only for us, but the community as whole. We donate regularly to our community and help out in ways many will never know about. All profits made from our sales go back to our lovely community.

Our opshop will be closed until early February with no income. We are now asking for our community's assistance to help us recover from this major setback. As a Not-for-profit, we are well aware of governance and financial obligations. We have been dealt a major blow and without outside help, we may seriously be on the verge of closing. Even though our income has stopped, our outgoings are still there – so rent, utilities etc still need to be covered.

We are asking for your assistance to help us get back on our feet. If you can donate a small amount, we would be ever so grateful!