THE heartbroken mothers of chronically ill teens say they are saddened that someone could brazenly steal a Royal Children’s Hospital charity collection tin from a Sturt St pizzeria.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Brooke Munn, whose son Jayden has been a patient at the Royal Children’s Hospital since he was born and his friend Levi, 9, who also has chronic illnesses and has been a patient throughout his life, have been raising money for the hospital.
Among the fundraising efforts was a tin which had been placed at Pinky’s Pizza in Sturt Street for the past four months.
About 5.30pm on Monday night, a woman was captured on CCTV stealing the tin from the counter, with the store since releasing footage of the incident.
Ms Munn said just on Monday she and Jayden had been speaking about changing the tin over because it had been getting full.
“We had a fundraiser last year and we filled one of the tins and when we tipped it out, there was $464 in it, so you can imagine it was something probably very similar this time around,” she said.
The boys had been hoping to raise $15,000 for the hospital in order to sponsor three beds through its Everyday Hero program and also see the boys’ names on the honour board.
“Some people are just awful, it’s a real kick in the guts,” Ms Munn said.
“We’d just about hit our goal, this would have just about tipped us over and now we’re back to where we were beforehand.”
Levi’s mother Katie Wright said while it wasn’t the biggest hurdle the boys had faced, it was a kick in the teeth.
“It’s a spanner in the works, that’s for sure,” she said. “And what’s she’s done, she’s stolen the money from the hospital, not from our boys, it’s money for anyone that attends that hospital, for all the kids.
“The bed sponsorship is $5000 a year, so we were raising for five years and all the money raised goes towards that ward, so all the kids who use it will benefit from it.”
CCTV footage of the theft has been sent to The Courier.
It is understood other footage handed into police also shows the numberplate of a car the offender got into after the theft.
Inspector Trevor Cornwill said it was an appalling act
“It’s an absolutely deploarable act to steal money that generous people have donated to support from less vulnerable, it’s disgusting behaviour,” he said.
“No doubt someone will recognise this person.”
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
"Have you signed up to The Courier's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat."