MILWAUKEE — Organizers who were preparing for a Christmas party at a Milwaukee youth center were heartbroken to find all of the toys and clothing meant for the children had been stolen.
New Hope Youth and Family Services posted a video on Facebook showing a room that appeared empty. The accompanying caption began, “I don’t know whether to be sad or angry right now.” New Hope Youth and Family Services said it had worked to secure sponsors and donations to ensure all the children at its Christmas party would be able to take items home.
“The nerve of some people to steal from children and a community center that serves your community. All they had to do was ask and we would have given them toys for their children,” staff said in the post.
Staff told WITI that approximately 45 children came to the event, expecting gifts, coats, gloves, hats and scarves. But hours before the children arrived, one of the staff members found the room where everything was stored had been emptied.
“When she came in to open the building for our after-school program, she found a cart with boxes on it in the gym,” Rita Lee, the center’s owner, told WITI. “We started setting up the night before. We had toys lined up, and they took all those. It was a sad party.”
The center said that five televisions were also stolen from the walls of the center.
Milwaukee police confirmed they are investigating the case, and asked anyone with information to contact them.
Staff at the center are working to collect new donations of gifts for children to take to the group home on Saturday. Anyone who wants to help can contact rlee.newhope@gmail.com.
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