Fundraising van theft

Last night thieves broke into our hospice fundraising van, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. 

The van was parked in St Barnabas’ Church car park. This crime has sadly fallen on Giving Tuesday, the biggest day of charitable giving in the world. It also comes shortly after our Saltburn charity shop was broken into in August, making us the victim of theft for the second time this year.

The thieves smashed their way into the van through a front window, stripping everything from the interior of the van, including the lights, gear stick, vents, door panels, glove box and sadly, much more. Although we have motor vehicle insurance, the impact of the crime is much bigger; there is the excess on the policy to pay, future premiums are likely to rise and we are unable to complete our daily fundraising activities, losing vital funds for care.

This comes at a particularly critical time for us, as Christmas is one of the most important times of the year for raising much-needed funds. The van is no longer able to be used for fundraising, having a big impact on local people living with life-limiting illnesses, who need our care the most.

Fundraising Manager Kim Bradley said: “We are lost for words. We had managed to recover from the break in that happened in August thanks to our local community, only to be faced with more damage. We have all been working so hard to give those in our care an amazing Christmas, and this will have an impact on everyone. We had plans for fundraising in our community today for Giving Tuesday, but we can no longer use our van. The cost of the damage is huge, and we will be faced with finding funds for repair. It’s an awful situation, and we don’t understand how anyone could target us, a local charity, for their own gain. We are broken-hearted.”

All plastic panelling has been stripped and stolen

Left hand side glass broken to gain entry

Glove box, airbag, gear stick and heating vents, lights, headrests all taken