STEER CLEAR!
I've frequented other Portland area
centers and resources Such as: William Temple House, St Vincent de Paul, Goodwill, Buffalo Exchange, ect. and those have been great experiences, unlike the one I had with The ARC.
As far as donation center experiences go this was bad.
I'm assuming to generate more donation revenue, their bigger items
(ex. the accordion I was looking to purchase) are listed on Craigslist, with nothing more than an anonymous reply email.
It was very difficult to get a hold of anyone here. When I did get a response clarifying the accordion was for sale at the donations center, it came late the next morning, and the store had been open about 4 hours.
She said it was on a first come, first served basis, and I was in the middle of shift at work, so I asked them to let me know if it sells.
Two hours later, I'm off the clock. So, I message back again to see if it was unsold, I get NO RESPONSE. A 40 minute drive from the other side of town, later and I find it's been bought, but not picked up. (How does that work?)
When I asked about this, the lady there started getting rude with me, so I left.
I have a job as a delivery driver, and I deliver our excess product to Portland Rescue Mission when possible, when we cater, my work gives discounts to non-profit organizations, & in my spare time I like to donate and buy products from organizations helping those in need.
Out of all the places you could be taking your charitable business in Portland I suggest looking elsewhere, at least until they get new employees.
