The co-ordinator for Chilliwack’s Terry Fox Run found out the hard way that thieves will steal just about anything.
Volunteers for the annual cancer research fundraiser put a 30-foot-by-three-foot banner up on the fence on Young Road by the Chilliwack Airport on Aug. 13.
Co-ordinator Diane Pinder said she drove by five days later and saw it had been partly torn off. She fixed it up as best as she could and carried on.
Then, on Aug. 22 after work, she drove by again, but it wasn’t until she got all the way home that it sunk in: The banner was gone.
“I have a really open heart, but I was really upset to think that someone would steal it off the fence on purpose,” Pinder said Monday, pointing to the fact it was obviously ripped off as the grommets and zap straps were left on the ground.
Why would someone steal a banner?
“I’m thinking it’s used as a shelter. It’s … really good quality, stronger than tarp material,” Pinder said. “I don’t understand why anyone would take it unless they needed it.”
The banner wasn’t terribly expensive at $400, but for a charity operating with zero budget that gives 82 cents on the dollar earned to cancer research, $400 is terribly expensive.
“Everything we do is begged and borrowed,” Pinder said. “Our runs are all volunteer-operated.”
The other problem is the banner had the correct location for the Sept. 16 run, which unfortunately is incorrect in The Chilliwack Leisure Guide ad.
Local entrepreneur Barry Ross who runs Ross Graphics has offered to donate a new banner. Pinder said the “amazing” offer is greatly appreciated and is very generous considering Ross runs a one-man operation.
“He has such a huge heart,” she said.
