Volunteers returned on January 17 to discover dozens of discarded donations dropped in front of the overflowing donation bin had been raided, leaving many items damaged and others stolen.

Mudgee St Vincent de Paul Society president, Carol Jones, said the scene was a cause for heartbreak as it meant additional "hard work" for the volunteers who give up their time to serve their community.

"It's heartbreaking to be perfectly honest," Ms Jones said.

"We are very, very appreciative of every single donation we receive but this was very confronting to see on a Monday morning.

"There are signs asking people to not leave donations on the ground because they will be ransacked or stolen, and that doesn't help the Society."

An act that Ms Jones chalked up to laziness has left them with a larger bill given the items that may have once been fit for donation are now bound for the tip.

"I hate saying it but it's probably just sheer laziness. They want to get rid of it from their home and get impatient and think 'I'll just leave it here, it won't matter' but sadly, it does," she said.

"If things are damaged then we have a bigger account with our skip bin.

"People, can you please just keep things at home when you see the bins are full? Just bring them in during the week when the volunteers are here.

"Have some respect for the Society, we really do a lot for the community."

As a temporary measure until "we can get on top of everything", Mudgee's Vinnies will only be accepting donations every Tuesday and Thursday between 9am and 1pm.

"We're actually going to put a banner across the bins now and close them totally," Ms Jones said.

Mudgee's Vinnies are continuously on the lookout for more volunteers with those interested to pop into the shop or phone 6372 2232.

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