Illawarra charity organisations have closed shopfronts and some are no longer accepting donations of items due to COVID-19.
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They have also asked the public not to dump unwanted items at donation bins during the pandemic.
Lifeline South Coast CEO Renee Green said they'd temporarily closed their Corrimal retail outlet.
"A lot of our volunteers would fit into one of the higher risk categories... And it's also on the highway in Corrimal, in the shopping precinct, so it tends to be a much busier shop," she said.
Ms Green said they'd also had to stop taking donations of physical items, either in-store or via donation bins.
"Without the volunteer workforce we don't have the ability to sort through those donations and prepare them for sale," she said.
"Some of our bins have been turned around where possible to face walls and things like that, so people physically can't put stuff in.
"We'd be asking the public to understand why we've had to make that difficult decision, and help us out by not continuing to put donations in or around those bins."
However, they are still accepting financial donations.
Lifeline's scheduled Big Book Fair, a major fundraiser for the organisation, was recently cancelled.
Lifeline is also selling a number of books that would have been available at the Book Fair via their website.
Ms Green said their Wollongong shop is still open - "that's something we're constantly reviewing" - and was meeting social distancing and hygiene requirements.
Peter Houweling, president of Vinnies' Wollongong Diocesan Central Council said their shops had been temporarily closed and signposted with a contact number for those in need.
Many of their services are still running, but this assistance would often now be conducted via phone instead of face-to-face.
"We're trying to help, but within the framework of help we still have to follow all the rules because we have to look after our members, and the people we contact."
He also asked the public not to put items in or near their donation bins, as they didn't have people able to collect them.
Mission Australia's regional leader for the Illawarra and South Coast, Brett Fahey said most staff were now working remotely, and much of their interaction with clients was being done via phone.
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