Surrey Christmas Bureau receives outpouring of support after break-in
Credit to Author: Stephanie Ip| Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2019 23:45:10 +0000
The holiday spirit is alive and well in Surrey, after CKNW listeners chipped in to help a Christmas bureau after a break-in on Wednesday.
Alarms were set off around 6:20 a.m. on Wednesday at the Surrey Christmas Bureau, located at 10240 City Parkway. Surrey RCMP arrived to find evidence of a break and enter, as well as three laptops and $6,000 worth of gift cards missing.
Christmas bureaus help families in need during the holiday season by providing toys, gift cards, and groceries for holiday meals. The bureaus are largely funded by donations and grants.
“To have an incident like this occur against a charity that works hard to support families during the holiday season is deplorable,” said Insp. Gurmakh Parmar with the Surrey RCMP.
“I encourage anyone with information about this incident to contact police and help ensure we can support those that support the vulnerable in our community.”
Following their coverage of the break and enter, local radio station CKNW put out a call for listeners to donate to the bureau.
“When the news broke about 20 minutes before our show, the production team just looked at each other and we said, ‘We’ll fix this,’” said Alan Regan, senior producer for the Simi Sara Show.
As the collection grew, local artist mister Blake chipped in — with a $10,000 donation. The donation was offered to Lisa Werring, executive director of the Surrey Christmas Bureau, live on air on Wednesday afternoon.
On the Simi Sara Show today, generous @CKNW listeners donated $12,000 to replace stolen gifts intended for local teenagers-in-need at the Surrey Christmas Bureau.
Here's the moment local singer, mister Blake, presented a cheque for $10,000 to Lisa Werring from the Bureau. pic.twitter.com/L2v1bWwPnM
“Lisa, how would you like a cheque for $10,000 from my music and mister Blake Foundation here to replace the gift cards, etc,” the performer said in a clip filmed in studio and shared by CKNW producer Alan Regan.
“Oh my goodness. That would be amazing,” Werring can be heard saying. “Thank you so much. I’m just absolutely flabbergasted.”
In all, CKNW listeners donated a total of $12,000 in the span of four hours, including a listen who donated a new laptop valued at $1,500.
Surrey RCMP are asking anyone with information about the break and enter to contact investigators at 604-599-0502.
sip@postmedia.com
twitter.com/stephanie_ip
VANCOUVER, B.C.: DEC. 11, 2019 – A break and enter at the Surrey Christmas Bureau on Dec. 11, 2019 led to an outpouring of support from CKNW listeners and local artist mister Blake, pictured, who donated $10,000 himself to help replace two stolen laptops and $6,000 worth of gift cards.
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