Over £5,000 stolen from foodbank including child's holiday appeal cash
Organisers at Scotland’s busiest foodbank say they are “gutted” after a break in at the weekend.
Callous thieves stole over £5,000 from Greater Maryhill Foodbank – including a four-figure sum raised to help 10 year old hit-and-run victim Chelsea Sommerville go on holiday.
Chelsea was injured in the incident which saw her friend Sophie Brannan killed.
The money was to be used to help her and her family recover from the crash with amuch-needed holiday.
News about the break in was posted by Julie Webster, manager of the charity, in a video posted on Facebook (below).
She described the theft as a "disgusting act of crime" and appealed for anyone with any information about the raid to come forward.
She said Tesco vouchers and new clothing had also been taken in the theft, which she said would "deeply affect" the foodbank's services.
Webster said the saddest part of the theft was the fact that the money which had been raised for Chelsea had also been taken.
Thieves entered through the roof and Webster spoke of the motivational message on the wall they must have seen.
"I like to remind people at the foodbank about the work that we are doing. We have a plaque on the wall that says "Don't measure things by volume",” she said.
"That makes me sick thinking about that - the first thing people would see is the fact it is a foodbank and people rely on the service.
"The fact they have still robbed us is terrible. Two years of my work has been trampled on the floor.
"They have no regard for our privacy or our safety, and I honestly felt like I wanted to leave the place when I first realised what had happened."
But she pledged: "We are having to start from scratch for Chelsea's appeal, but I would like to say to Chelsea's family: We'll get that money back Chelsea and we'll make sure you get your holiday.
"I would ask the public to please support us as much as you can over the next couple of weeks to try and get this project back up and running again.
"I give you my 100% assurance that I will work day and night to make sure we get the foodbank back up and running."
The foodbank has already been inundated with offers of help and support, and it plans to set up a Just Giving page on Tuesday.
