Cancer charity’s outdoor furniture is stolen
USERS LEFT WITH NO OUTDOOR SPACE FOR MEETING IN
A NORTH East cancer charity has been left devastated after thieves stripped its community garden of all of its furniture.
Bosses at Fighting All Cancers Together (FACT) were in disbelief when they arrived at the Swalwell site to find seats, benches ornaments and plants had been taken from its outdoor area during the night of Thursday, March 4.
It is the second time during the lockdown that the charity has been targeted, with vandals smashing a window with a beer bottle last month.
Joanne Smith, founder and chief executive of the charity, said: “It is a tough enough time for the charity at the minute. To come in that morning to see that was not very nice. Just days earlier we had a window put through at the back.
“It’s just horrible. I just had an immediate sense of disbelief. It’s the last thing we need.
“This is a community charity which is needed now more than ever, with cancer care being hit tremendously hard during the pandemic.
“Our FACT family love being outdoors, and these simple things are there to bring happiness to people and families affected by cancer when they need it the most.”
Charities in general are struggling due to the financial constraints caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with many fundraising events being called off and shops unable to open. FACT offers a range of non-clinical services for people diagnosed with cancer, as well as their families, friends and carers, at its Clasper Way premises.
The charity has been forced to move its operations online, including counselling, support groups and coffee mornings.
But its volunteers have continued to play a vital role in the community by providing 300 support packages containing food and toiletries every week to vulnerable people across the North East during the first national shutdown.
FACT is self-funded and Joanne admits it has been a huge transition to be able to meet the demands of growing numbers of people relying on their support.
“We had to turn our services around very quickly to go virtually,” she said. “We are getting so many new referrals. It is vital to stay in touch the way we have with our FACT family.
“We have helped prevent at least four suicides during the pandemic. People are happy to still be in contact, whether that be over the phone or on a Zoom call.
“We are having to work so hard to survive as an organisation. We are applying for funding but we’re getting a lot of knock-backs due to demand.”
Police are currently investigating the damaged window but Joanne says she opted against alerting officers about the garden theft.
“We’re aware that there’s not much the police can do with crimes such as this,” she said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up (‘Replace FACT’s stolen furniture’), with the community rallying to replace the stolen items by raising almost £1,500 so far. Joanne said: “It shows the goodness and the generosity of people. We keep our focus on the positives out there. We cannot let the people responsible for these incidents to win.
“As a FACT family we’re determined to stick together to get through this and we’re so grateful for all the help and support.”
A Northumbria Police spokesman said: “We can confirm we are investigating a report that a beer bottle was thrown at Denise Robertson House on Clasper Way and damaged a window at some point between February 20, and the morning of February 22.
“Inquiries to identify the person responsible for the damage are ongoing and anyone with information about those responsible is asked to contact police on 101, quoting log 210 22/02/21.”