An Isle of Wight community charity that helps those in need has been the victim of a break-in.
The burglary took place sometime last night (Wednesday) at Aspire in Ryde and resulted in the till, cash boxes, a laptop and more being stolen.
Aspire is home to a huge number of community activities and events, supporting many in the local area, both young and old.
Items already being donated
Following news of the break-in offers of support from the community have already been streaming in with a PC, a laptop and tills already being donated.
A GoFundMe page has also been set up with the permission of Aspire to collect donations to help secure enough cash to replace other items stolen and make repairs the damage created by the thieves.
“Overwhelmed”
Heath Monaghan, who runs Aspire, told OnTheWight he was overwhelmed,
“I knew the community on the Isle of Wight was strong, but today has shown it to be stronger than I’d previously imagined it. People have been so generous – we’ve already had two laptops, a printer has just arrived and we’ve had offers of tills too.”
Earlier today he’d posted to Facebook,
Ciao Bella
The charity also have a fundraising event taking place this Saturday night.
Their Italian-themed night sees Aspire working with the Pop Up Soup Kitchen to host an eat all you want Italian food night, made entirely from waste food (not quite from the bin – but near its sell by date!).
Make sure you book tickets in advance.
Update 17:52: Added comment from Heath
Image: © Aspire Ryde
