Having kitchenware stolen wouldn’t normally be so bad, but along with pans and paper towels, the thief also took the University Place Kiwanis Club’s means of raising money for the Special Olympics.
Sometime last week, thieves broke into a storage area on South Adams Street in Tacoma and rummaged through the club’s three-quarter-ton covered trailer.
“They destroyed everything that was in it,” club president Norman LaBrecque said Wednesday. “It is going to affect the fundraiser unless we replace the items.”
The thieves took about $2,500 worth of pots and pans, coffee makers, extension cords, condiments, propane tanks and a tent. They even made off with the trash can.
But first, they spread paper plates, salt and other items on the ground outside the trailer.
The food and kitchenware kept in the trailer were necessary for the Kiwanis to sell hot dogs, coffee and donuts to raise money for several causes in the South Sound.
The Kiwanis provide $4,000 in scholarships to Curtis High School students each year and donate about $3,000 to the Special Olympics, which will be June 1-3 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Club members discovered the mess Friday and reported it to Tacoma police. No arrests have been made, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.
Club members are pricing the stolen items to figure out how much it will cost to replace them, but they don’t have much time, and there are only 21 members to contribute.
“I just think it was a shame that this happened,” LaBrecque said.
Donations can be made to the University Place Kiwanis Restoration Fund at any Columbia Bank branch.
Stacia Glenn: 253-597-8653stacia.glenn@thenewstribune.com
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