Local Salvation Army pulls used toys from its shelves

Tampa Bay area Salvation Army thrift stores have pulled nearly all toys from their shelves rather than battle the multiple recall lists that have come out in recent months.

The move came after the Salvation Army's southern territory ordered many of its thrift stores to not sell toys unless they could guarantee they are not hazardous.

The decision affected 15 stores in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Polk, Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Salvation Army Major William Madison said he immediately ordered the nine thrift stores in his command -- in Pinellas, Pasco, Sarasota and Manatee counties -- to pull all toys except some stuffed animals. "Toys have just become a real pain," he said. "Every single day we've been debating over this for the last couple weeks."

Salvation Army representatives said they were trying to err on the side of caution and used toys will be set aside until it is determined if they are safe.

Hundreds of used toys that were removed from shelves were stacked in large bins in a Salvation Army warehouse in St. Petersburg today. Nationally, the Salvation Army is recommending that thrift stores and other programs stop accepting toy donations unless they can successfully eliminate recalled or hazardous toys, said Melissa Temme, a national spokesperson for the Salvation Army.

It will be up to individual stores to determine how to achieve this. Madison said his stores are still accepting used and new toy donations but not selling them.

Volunteers for the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program today began inspecting toy donations in stages at a Salvation Army gymnasium on Ninth Avenue N. Volunteers sifted through bags of toys still in their packages donated for underprivileged children and tried to figure out whether the donated presents are on national recall lists.

"It's a very uneasy feeling," said volunteer Patricia Frizelle as she tried to match up toys to the thick stack of recall list. "I wouldn't want to make a mistake.''

Salvation Army officials say they are doing the best they can in light of multiple recalls.

"We want to make sure that what we give out to clients is safe," said Major Esther Satterlee, a corps officer who is in charge of womens' ministries for the local Salvation Army. "We have the kids in mind and we want them to have not only a good Christmas but a safe Christmas."

Video: Salvation Army Maj. William Madison talks about the decision to pull toys from the shelves of the Salvation Army's stores and the difficulty of deciding what to do with the hundreds of toys now abandoned in a warehouse.

Video: Maj. Esther Saterlee leads a team of volunteers who are sifting through toys donated to the Salvation Army, searching for those that have been recalled.

Leonora LaPeter Anton and Ilyce Meckler, Times staff writers