Kurt Evans and the handfuls of different volunteers who run the Summerland Well being Care Auxiliary Thrift Store are reeling after the newest incident of vandalism on the charity.
“It’s very disheartening to see this,” mentioned Evans, the vice-president of the board for the thrift store.
In response to Evans, somebody climbed onto the roof the of the constructing final Friday evening and tagged it with graffiti.
Because of this, the non-profit, which helps fund native well being care supply, is now dealing with a expensive cleanup.
“This graffiti that has now occurred, it’ll in all probability value us a minimum of $1,000 or extra,” Evans instructed International Information.
The graffiti incident is simply the newest in a sequence of issues impacting the charity, together with thefts of donated gadgets left on the retailer’s again door.
Latest safety photographs present the suspects in motion however the thefts have been occurring often for greater than a yr.
“Coping with this sort of theft, that takes cash out of the shop’s pockets, that permits us to place that in direction of medical applications that we’re concerned in,” he mentioned.
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Evans mentioned the offenders have now additionally began breaking into the shop’s rubbish containers.
“The problem with the break-ins to the industrial rubbish cans turns into an issue financially for us,” Evans mentioned. “When one thing must get repaired, we foot the invoice on that.”
The thrift retailer has been a longstanding fixture in the neighborhood, working for greater than a 115 years.
In that point, it has raised almost $10 million to assist assist well being care within the South Okanagan area.
“All of the volunteers are so pleased with what we do, and that’s why we’re right here. You recognize, that’s why they work so laborious,” mentioned Shannon Toop, the board’s secretary and previous president. “It’s to boost cash for our neighborhood and our space and our hospital.”
Whereas the graffiti was reported to RCMP, Evans can also be asking for the general public’s assist by urging folks to not drop off donations after hours to maintain the world away from any potential gadgets to steal.
“Please don’t drop off donations after 4 p.m.,” Evans mentioned. “We’re all volunteers. All of us put in 1000’s of hours a yr, tons of a month. So something they’ll do to make it simpler on us is appreciated.”
The Summerland Well being Care Auxiliary Thrift Store is presently working in direction of a significant aim that can increase most cancers care within the area.
It’s within the strategy of elevating 1,000,000 {dollars} for the oncology clinic on the Penticton Regional Hospital.
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