Mean thieves steal donations

By Melissa Donchi
THIEVES have forced their way into a Yarra Junction cafe and made off with more than a year’s worth of community donations for charities, in an act cafe owner Bernadette Raynel described as “despicable”.
The thieves are believed to have climbed in through the roof of the Yarra Junction Arcade over the weekend and crawled along the ceiling before forcing their way into the Real Food Cafe.
They walked away with more than $300 of community donations and caused about $5000 of damage.
It was particularly disheartening for Ms Raynel, who had just returned from a 10-day South Pacific cruise.
“I had been meaning to count the donations and take it to the bank but I was just so tired I thought I would wait until I got back from holidays,” Ms Raynel said.
“I regret it now because we’ve lost a year-and-a-half worth of donations that could have really helped these charities.”
One charity is The Samaritan’s Purse, which supports the victims of war and famine and helps people to buy Christmas presents for children in Third World countries. The other is Wildlife Victoria, for which Real Food Cafe sold calendars to help raise money.
Croydon crime investigators attended the scene but were unable to find any fingerprints or other conclusive evidence.