People rally round after museum raid
THE Silk Museum has received ‘fantastic’ support from the people of Macclesfield after burglars caused ‘devastation’.
Burglars broke into the attraction, on Park Lane, in Macclesfield, on Monday, August 2, and since then the community has raised £2,175.
Nicky Brier, business communications and marketing manager at Macclesfield Museums, said this support has lifted spirits after a difficult period.
She said: “The public support has been fantastic and has really lifted our spirits.
“We’ve had a really tough 18 months, and to have a break-in whilst trying to re-open and keep it open after the pandemic has been difficult.
“A Facebook post we put out to appeal for support went viral and we’ve received £2,175 in donations to this date, with countless messages of support.
“The break-in hasn’t stopped us from carrying on our work and we have loads of activities happening, and we just really want people to come visit us.”
Crooks stole artefacts and money from the public donations box, while a significant amount of damage was caused at the museum.
Some of the stolen items include medals that were awarded to Charles Tunnicliffe, and they have not been returned to the museum yet.
The museum have received huge backing from the local community, but Nicky revealed that the organisation still need further support to recover from the impact of the pandemic and the break-in.
She said: “We still need lots of support, people to join our activities and keep the donations coming in as this last 18 months has been very hard as our income is down due to Covid.”
The museum is running a ‘Summer of Art’ workshop programme through August until early September, as well as a variety of online talks as part of their ‘What’s On’ programme.
If you would like to donate to the museum to help to replace the stolen donations and repair the damage caused, donate using the link macclesfieldmuseums. co. uk/ donate.