MONTREAL -- People at a South Shore charity that was robbed and vandalized this week say 2020 is ending a lot better than they thought it would.
After the break-in on Tuesday at the Grande Guignolée des Médias, an eleventh-hour outpouring of new charity replaced all the donations that were stolen -- and then some.
“People are coming since two days bringing canned food and things like that," said Robert Maher of the Greenfield Park-based charity.
"A lot of gifts, money were brought to us. It’s been going on for two days and we can’t stop, people are still coming in.”
The thieves kicked in a warehouse door and caused thousands of dollars in damages as well as the theft -- they stole food, diapers, candy and gifts, even a microwave, all intended for families in need.
After the community stepped in, the charity is now set to even surpass its original goal. Volunteers will now scramble to get the donations to the recipients next week.
“It’s been something that we didn’t expect," said Maher. "It’s funny to say [it's] a success, but we’re very happy [about] the response from the people, and it’s going to help quite a lot the families that we’re helping.”
Just in time, he says, every new box filled up is helping them restore their faith in people's goodness at the end of a very rough stretch.
"We’re so grateful for the people and we don’t know how to thank them, but believe me, we thank them from the bottom of our heart," said Maher.
