ORANGE PARK, Fla. – Donations that benefit a nonprofit hospice organization are being stolen right off the charity's doorstep.
The Community Hospice Thrift Shop is located on a busy stretch of Blanding Boulevard in Orange Park, with surveillance cameras clearly in sight.
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Those cameras recently caught two women walking up to the thrift store and apparently taking what they wanted from a pile of donations that had been dropped off.
A thrift store employee said the donated items are sold to fund the hospice organization, and that wasn't the first time items were taken.
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said some people may not realize taking those donated items is theft.
“But it is. It's on private property, and once the person leaves the items there, then it does belong to (the organization), so to come and take it would actually be considered theft,” Smith said. “It's hard to tell how common this is, because sometimes, the business owner may not even know that someone has come by and taken something.”
An employee said police have been notified, but there’s still no word on the identities of the women.
The employee posted the surveillance video to Facebook, hoping to catch the thieves.
The thefts, she said, are taking money directly from the nonprofit.
“It actually hurts the business when someone is taking items like that, because they're depending on that to sell and help out their charity,” Smith said. “Now, they don't have those items, and it really damages their business.”
It’s unclear if the women seen in the video are the same people who have stolen donations in the past.
Anyone with information on who the women are is asked to call police. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.