OpEdNews - Diary: School Robbed: Grinches take kids' snack and piggy bank!

The Greenhouse School was robbed this week, and thieves shocked school officials by making off with the kids' tortilla chips and salsa as well as the cash they had collected to send to a partner school in Haiti.

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Contact: Dan Welch through the author's link on this page.

Date: 9/23/10
Place: The Greenhouse School, Salem MA
Photos available? [THEY STOLE OUR CAMERA!!!] :-(

School Robbed--thieves take kids SNACK and piggy bank!

Somewhere out there, a grinch is munching on tortilla chips, listening to music, taking pictures, or watching a movie--all with the haul they made from The Greenhouse School on Tuesday night.

"At first we noticed the usual things: computers, cd players, a camcorder..." says Director Dan Welch. However, Welch, his wife and the kids started to notice some surprising items missing. "They took the snack!" cried Julia Nambalirwa-Lugudde, Welch's wife and co-director.

It's pretty unbelievable--like something out of a movie, perhaps. Even the kids were incredulous: "What are they going to do, have a party?" added Jordan, a fourth grader at the Salem school. Even worse, the grinches took the kids' change collection, which sits in the middle of the classroom and is earmarked for the SOPUDEP school in Haiti, with which Greenhouse has an ongoing relationship. "That really takes the cake," says Welch. "...or rather, the cash!"

"It's very disheartening, because we don't have much 'stuff' to begin with." he adds. "We're a down-to-earth school, and we don't have a lot in the way of gadgets and expensive things." The school will recover quickly, officials say. But it leaves a bad taste even more than a usual robbery. "Imagine," says Welch, shaking his head, "stealing food from little kids."

Good coverage of the heartrending incident was carried on page one of the regional newspaper and also on Boston TV channels 4 & 25.

Those willing to help can visit the school's website, where a DONATE button allows instant donations that will help the school get back on its feet.

Several donors have come forward, including an elderly woman who brought in her own collection of change. "I know," she told the school's Director. "I used to run a food program where all the food was stolen once... so I know." The sentiment moved Welch and Lugudde to tears. "And if your mother [school founder Patricia Jennings-Welch, who passed away last year] were still here, I would be working with her--for nothing!--because this is important." The school appreciates the outpouring of goodwill.