ABOVE: Sunrise Bakerystaff Lee Wood (left) andMatika Hilliard-Faulkner were saddened to learn donated money, intended to help those in need, had been stolen from the bakery on Monday morning. PHOTO: Sam Bradbrook
A THIEF broke into an Evanston bakery earlier this week and stole hundreds of dollars’ worth of donated money that was intended to be used for a free soup kitchen.
Police arrived at Sunrise Bakery on Main North Road at around 2am on Monday morning after receiving a call from a nearby service station employee.
Patrols attended the scene and found a large window had been smashed, and the suspect had entered the store and taken a money tin and drinks.
The area was searched, but police were not able to locate the offender.
The stolen money tin was filled with more than $200 in tips, which the bakery was going to use to run a free soup kitchen each month.
A second tin containing donations for the Royal Society of the Blind was also taken, containing an unknown amount of money.
Bakery owner Leah King was shocked to learn the generous donations from customers had been stolen.
“We do a soup kitchen and it’s been a little while since we’ve done one, so there was a fair bit of money in the tin,” she said.
“That’s the part I think is the saddest of it all, that they took that donated money.
“It really hit home; there were people coming in who didn’t really have any money who were donating to it because they looked forward to coming in for that night.
“We never collect tips here, any money that comes in goes straight back to the community in one way or another.”
Locals have rallied in support of the business, with an event posted on Facebook on Monday, and planned for Saturday, encouraging people to eat at the bakery and donate to the soup kitchen fund in wake of the robbery.
The bakery had only held its first kitchen event around six weeks ago, with staff preparing soup and dessert for those in need.
“Anyone was welcome to come along and help themselves to what they liked,” Mrs King said.
“The part that gets me is they take something that was going to go back to the community who need it.
“I like to see good in everyone, I like to think that someone stole it for their family because they had no other option, but I highly doubt it.”
