Parents at Cameron Elementary are looking for donations to restock their emergency earthquake kit, after it was raided by thieves a second time in late November or early December.
"We got a note the day after it happened, and it was just like, here we go again. We had just finished top-ping everything up," said Jane Ann Mintenko, chair of the parents' advisory council at Cameron. "The first thing I thought was obviously people are very desperate for those items, but if we have a natural disaster we're going to be in trouble at the school and in the community."
The kit, which is for the surrounding community as well as the school, is a large metal padlocked bin full of supplies in case of a natural disaster. The bin is kept on the school's property, beside the parking lot, and is almost as big as a garbage dumpster. "It's actually quite difficult to get at the locks and cut them," Mintenko said.
Stolen items included a crowbar, flashlights, batteries, two hard hats, 14 tarps, first-aid kits, rechargeable lanterns, toilet paper, blankets, an awning, work gloves and comfort kits for all 365 Cameron students in case of a disaster.
Mintenko estimated the stolen items were valued at $3,000 to $5,000. The police were called, and they opened a file, but the school hasn't heard anything since.
Thieves (or a thief) also raided the Cameron bin last spring, and parents had been working on replacing supplies with donations from the community.
The NOW reported on a similar case at Gilmore Elementary last August, when thieves broke into the emergency bin there, making off with roughly $3,000 worth of supplies.
That incident was also the second time Gilmore's bin was broken into.
"Someone's obviously targeting the schools," said Mintenko.
The NOW has also learned Kitchener Elementary had its kit broken into.
Not every school has a bin of emergency supplies. It's the schools' parents that fundraise and put together the kits - for their children and the community at large.
Meanwhile, the Cameron parents are asking for donations of supplies or money to help replenish the bin, especially since it is available for the wider community to use if there's a natural disaster.
To make a donation, call the school at 604-664-8622 and leave a message for Mintenko or Kari Hoskin.
