Krystal Rampalli of Columbia used to donate clothes by dropping them into the metal clothing donation bins that dot the parking lots of shopping centers across the Midlands, believing she was helping those in need.
But then she became curious about whether she was really helping others.
“I’ve had this suspicion in recent years that most of these clothing donation bins are bogus,” Rampalli said. “So many of these bins are all over the place, so I wondered how many of them are actually going towards charities. I didn’t necessarily believe that it was going to the people who really need them.”…