Upwards of 90 per cent of the bottles and cans that staff and parents with Duncan’s Arcadian Early Learning & Child Care had been collecting over the holidays have been stolen.
Staffers with the non-profit childcare centre were alerted late Thursday night that their storage shed had been compromised and much of its contents were gone.
“The locks were snapped off the shed and they left the bottles but all the cans that were in bags are gone,†said Duncan councillor Sharon Jackson, who sits on the group’s board of directors. “It’s just a devastating blow because that was the big fundraiser.â€
She explained the group receives annual funding from the United Way and so to give back to the group that gives them so much, each year they raise money — their most successful venture always seems to be a bottle drive.
“It’s extremely discouraging,†Kate Skye, the daycare’s manager said. “It’s just so unfortunate that we’re raising the money for the United Way of which we are a member agency, which they then return money to us. It’s obviously for vulnerable children and families that need support so it’s very challenging and it’s disheartening.â€
Joined by board chair Rachel Jackson, Skye and Sharon Jackson, sorted through what bottles were left on Friday afternoon, and the donations quickly brought to the daycare by folks who learned of its misfortune online earlier in the day.
“The plan was that everybody’s been collecting them and the board, next week, was going to meet early and sort through all the cans and get them all set up to take to Encorp,†Jackson said.
But with the theft, the trio felt it best to take care of what they still had on hand before thieves thought about a prosperous return.
Well wishers hoping to offer their bottles and cans to the daycare are encouraged to take them to the Encorp Pacific recycling centre on Norcross Road and donate them to the Arcadian Daycare Centre account. Those unable to do so but would still like to contribute are encouraged to email jacksononcouncil@live.com