A fundraising evening is planned to help a couple running a Clunes newsagency that was bulldozed by ATM raiders in March.
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Criminals rammed the business run by Craig and Cynthia Drewer with an excavator overnight on March 2.
Although the raiders were unsuccessful in their attempt to rob the ATM, their actions caused extensive damage to the historic building.
With no date slated for repair work to begin, the Drewers are struggling to keep their business afloat. Despite operating from the Club Hotel across the road, they are only gaining around 40 to 50 per cent of the income of the previous year. In the weeks following the raid, income dropped by as much as 80 per cent.
We have had to get realistic in the last few weeks. If it's going to be next year before we get in [to the restored building], we won't be here - the business won't last that long
- Craig Drewer
Such is their precarious situation, the Clunes community has rallied around the pair to organise a fund-raising evening to help keep the business going.
The event, which will be held at the Clunes Community Centre on Saturday night, includes a sit-down dinner, auctions and a raffle. Fund-raising donations have come across the community and include a $1,200 travel voucher, a stay for two at the RACV club in Creswick and power tools.
Complications over insurance mean the couple still do not have any start date for work to repair the building.
"We have had to get realistic in the last few weeks. If it's going to be next year before we get in [to the restored building], we won't be here - the business won't last that long," said Mr Drewer.
"It's been overwhelming and humbling that the town thinks enough of us to warrant keeping it going.
"We don't feel that it is warranted but obviously the community has said otherwise."
SEE THE AFTERMATH OF THE ROBBERY:
The Drewers took over the lease of the business early last year as a lifestyle choice, and it was going well until the incident in early March.
Mr Drewer said: "If it was a bad business decision, we would wear it. When it is something completely out of our control, it is hard to take."
The impact [the crime] leaves on individuals is immense.These guys are at risk of losing their house and their business. They're just damn good people.
- Steven Hunter, Clunes Tourism Development Association
Three men have been charged over the Clunes ATM raid and several other robberies in the region.
Steven Hunter, the president of the Clunes Tourism Development Association and one of the organisers of the evening, said the newsagency was an important social hub.
Most of all he said the fund-raising evening was prompted by a strong desire to help.
"The impact [the crime] leaves on individuals is immense," he told The Courier.
"These guys are at risk of losing their house and their business. They're just damn good people."
- Tickets to the event at 6.30 on Saturday night (June 22) at the Clunes Community Centre, include a sit-down dinner. It costs $50 for adults/ $20 for children.
- For tickets - or to make a donation - contact Steven Hunter, president of the Clunes Tourism Development Association, on 0400 696 794 or email clunestda@gmail.com.
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