By JESSE GRAHAM
A CALLOUS theft of supplies for the homeless last month has sparked a surge in public support and donations to stricken Lilydale charity, Holy Fools.
The Swansea Road charity was broken into on the weekend of 22-23 March and thousands of dollars in equipment and food was stolen, along with a 2003 Toyota HiAce van, which had extensive Holy Fools branding.
Since then, Holy Fools’ Chief Executive Neal Taylor said the community had come out in support of the charity, with $700 in food for homeless people and fund-raisers replaced and more cash donations coming in.
On Thursday 2 April, Lilydale Coles ran a fund-raiser for the charity, and Mr Taylor said it was just the latest in an outpouring of support.
“We’re finding that the community response has been fantastic,” he said.
“People have been dropping food and donations off, coming in and having a chat – it’s been great.
“The response really has been overwhelming – I’m thankful that, if anything has come out of this, the community is now much more aware of what we do and more supportive.”
An iMac computer, three printers, the building’s phone system, 10 backpack beds for homeless people, $700 in food for homeless people and even the vacuum cleaner and bin were taken in the theft, along with the van.
News of the theft spread rapidly through local and metropolitan press and on social media, with people posting their sightings of the van in Healesville in the days following the break-in.
When workers at Telstra heard about the theft, they rallied their colleagues and approached Mr Taylor to organise a replacement phone.
As for the van, Lilydale Crime Investigation Unit Detective Sergeant Mark Smithwick said police had no new leads, and Mr Taylor said the last sighting was in Mansfield – some 150 kilometres away.
He said the organisation was struggling without the van, but sees the matter as a small setback, and one that is slowly getting better.
“There have been a few occasions where we’ve had to juggle cars and try to work out how to get things to a location without the van,” Mr Taylor said.
“But we’re slowly managing – it is more of a hiccup than a downfall.”
To donate to Holy Fools, visit www.holyfools.org.au, call 1300 133 889 or contact Neal Taylor on 0417 579 944.
