Would that be stealing?

Last week I put out a bunch of donation items on our curb for a local charity to come and pick it up. A friend came by and asked to put some stuff out she wanted to get rid of and so she left it on our front yard. I left shortly after to pick up the kids - I was back in less than an hour and half the stuff she put out was taken! We live in a "good" neighborhood so this was totally unexpected. Granted, the stuff was bound for donation but it was supposed to go to the needy and not neighbors seeing something they wanted! I really think they should have come to the door and asked me for it and not just take it - it's not like I had a "free" sign on the stuff.

When I put the rest of the donations outside, one of the yard maintenance people did come to my door and asked to take the bookcase. I let him - he asked and figured he could use it. Throughout the day though, stuff started to slowly disappear from the pile. Someone even had the nerve to open up the boxes and sort through stuff they wanted. By the time the charity truck arrived later that afternoon, only a few boxes remained. I feel sorry for the needy - they didn't get what I intended for them to get.