MAKE fundraiser reaches £1,285 after thieves strike
MAKE, a charity shop and cafe at Aldingbourne Enterprise in Fratton which helps adults with learning difficulties and autism lead independent lives, was targeted by thieves at some point last Saturday night or Sunday morning.
The heartless crooks made off with £2,000 which was secured in a safe, but in the days following the breakin, the community have rallied round to help undo the damage caused by the thieves.
Since news broke of the theft, a MAKE volunteer has set up a Justgiving page to support the charity and at the time of writing the total donations come to an amazing £1,285.
As reported, MAKE at Aldingbourne Enterprise manager Sarah Mita said: “We’re a safe space for everybody in the community and somebody has violated that space.
“It really upset me and it has upset the team. They feel violated. It’s not a nice feeling to know that someone came in for something specifically and left with it – and would do that to a charity.
“People do steal from the charity shop occasionally, but this is the first time that we have actually been broken into.
“The public have been absolutely amazing. We have had letters of condolence, people coming in to have a cup of tea because they saw it online and had never been here before – the support from the community has been absolutely incredible.
“Out of a very sad thing that has happened, it’s made us so humbled to see how loved the place is by everybody.
“It’s overwhelming.
Thank you to everybody for their well-wishes and their support.”
According to Sarah, no CCTV cameras are present in the area to record the incident and police are relying on any witnesses to the break-in to come forward with information.
A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: “At some time overnight between Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21, offender/s forced entry to MAKE at Aldingbourne Enterprise, Cornwall Road, Portsmouth. Once inside they took a safe containing around £2,000. Investigations are ongoing.”