Thieves raid hospice shop just hours after it opens
THIEVES raided a charity shop for a children’s hospice just hours after its official opening.
They stole £500 – the entire day’s takings from the store in Oldham Road, Royton, which is run for Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice.
The gang broke in and smashed their way into a safe.
It is believed they deliberately targeted the shop after seeing publicity for its launch.
The raid is a setback for the charity, which took over Grace’s Place in Radcliffe last year.
It raised £60,000 by Christmas for nurses to start a ‘hospice at home’ service for some of the 650 children with life-shortening conditions and their families in Bury, Rochdale and Oldham.
Forget Me Not, whose patron is Princess Beatrice, plans to open the children’s hospice on Dumers Lane for in-house and overnight care in October 2018.
The Royton shop is located at the old Central Garage petrol station on Oldham Road.
To mark the opening, an event over the Bank Holiday weekend with a popup tea shop, games and Easter-themed activities was staged.
Many families and local residents attended the opening on Saturday, March 31, but it was broken into that night.
The thieves smashed glass windows and doors, damaged internal fire doors and pulled apart the till area. They ripped the safe off the wall and stole approximately £500 of takings and the float money.
Police are now investigating.
Staff and volunteers pulled together on Easter Sunday to help tidy and fix the shop, so they could open as planned on Monday.
Kirsty Franks, general manager of Grace’s Place in Radcliffe, said: “Understandably we’re all shaken up by the break-in that took place over the weekend.
“The team worked so ●●Pamela Gray (shop manager) left and volunteer Janet Wild, at the official opening of the Forget Me Not charity shop in Oldham Road, Royton. Hours later it was raided. hard to put on a really fun opening event, and it’s heart-breaking that the weekend, which was supposed to be a celebration and bring local people together, was ruined in this way.
“But I’m extremely proud of our staff and volunteers for pulling together to make sure we could open as planned this week.
“More than ever though we need the support from the local community.
“As well as donating quality, unwanted items such as clothes, books, toys, household items and furniture, we’re asking people to please stop by our new shop to take a look and buy some of the great stock we have.
“We’re so close to opening the doors to our new children’s hospice, but we need to raise as much money as possible to make sure we can help the children and families in North Manchester who need our care and support.
“The break-in over the weekend is a step back, but I’m confident with the continued support of our staff, volunteers, fundraisers and people in the local community we’ll be able to get back on track.”