Grinch’s Heartless Heist: $18,000 Worth of Gifts Meant for Poorest CNY Families Stolen

How low can someone be? Nearly $20,000 worth of gifts meant for families in one of the poorest Central New York neighborhoods have vanished.

Each year more than 100 volunteers give money, gifts, and their time to support the Christmas Gift Giving Program at St. Lucy's Church. Donations are accepted yearly for a big one-day giveaway during the holiday season.

Grinch Takes It All

All the gifts are stored in a warehouse until Christmas. However, it was burglarized and the Grinch took everything.

Literally every item was stolen," said program organizer Kay Scharoun. "All that was left were the bins items were stored in.

Unfortunately, since the warehouse was donated space, there is no insurance to cover the loss of $18,000 in gifts.

Starting From Scratch

A GoFundMe was set up to try and raise enough money to purchase everything that was lost. More than 300 families, including 250 adults and 700 children, are anticipated to use the program this Christmas.

During the gift give-a-way, people receive:
New clothing - sweaters, shirts, robes, PJs, coats, hats, gloves
Household items - toasters, coffee makers, blankets, sheets, dishes, towels
Personal hygiene kits - soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, electric razors
Child Gifts - toys, books, arts & crafts items
Gift wraps and gift bags are also given out.

Many volunteers work hard to make this a special day for the people we serve. Please consider donating to help us bring this event back to life. Everything donated will be put directly toward this program.

A portion of the money raised will be used to cover a new warehouse space.