ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — It has been over two weeks since a local non-profit retail space was robbed, and it has caused numerous issues for the new thrift store ever since.
It could take a few more weeks for Carpenter’s Place to replace a catalytic converter stolen from its truck. It is a robbery that has really hurt the non-profit and those it aims to help.
“Those donors need us to be able to pick up the donations of large items of furniture, and so it put the brakes on all of that,” said Mike O’Connor, executive director of Carpenter’s Place.
Catalytic converters were recently stolen from a truck used by Carpenter’s Place. The non-profit has not been able to collect furniture to sell in its new thrift store since then.
All proceeds from “Carpenter’s Corner,” 1715 Rural St., go directly to help the area’s homeless.
“The long short of it is we’re over a month without having our truck, and so it really cuts into our ability to serve our customers,” O’Connor said.
The thrift store opened its door in March. It is filled with donations from the community, which is also how they funded the truck in the first place. It had only been in use for two weeks prior to the theft.
“There have been folks where, you know, you can imagine if you’ve got a new couch coming and you want to donate your old couch, you need that old couch to disappear at a certain time,” O’Connor said. “And, when we had to call folks up and say, ‘sorry, we don’t have a truck, we’re not gonna able to do this,’ you know, you don’t like that to have to do that to people who are being very generous to you. But, people have been incredibly gracious, and a couple more weeks and we’ll be back in business, and so, that’s the good news here.”
Carpenter’s Place now has to spend $10,000 to repair the truck. Administrators said that some new security measures are also on the way.
“So, it’s being fixed and hopefully it won’t happen again,” O’Connor said. “We will park the truck in a secure, locked place and put some cameras on it and move forward, but it is disappointing to, you know, to realize that you’ve been a victim of theft in that manner.”
More information about donating to Carpenter’s Corner can be found on their website.
