Overnight on Friday, July 25th, United Way of Bucks County was the victim of theft: a new central air conditioner condenser was stolen from our Lower Bucks office. This is the third burglary in two years, with theft and damages estimated over $8,000. This recently stolen AC unit is the only one we replaced when we renovated our building two years ago.
“It’s incredibly disappointing,” says CEO Jamie Haddon. “We have two older units that don’t have that much life left in them. This newer unit was what we invested in when we fixed up our facility. If we want to replace it now, it will cost about $3,000.”
In addition to the air conditioning unit, UW Bucks’ “shed” has been broken into twice over the past two years. The shed is a small building on the property used to store items for other nonprofits until they can pick them up for their clients. It typically contains home goods, like bedding, kitchenware and clothing. All of these items go to people in need in Bucks County.
Haddon estimates theft and damages to the shed total more than $5,000. “We do our best to secure the space, but we’ve had serious people come here with bolt cutters and other tools. They have managed to completely remove the doors and help themselves to items that were supposed to go to people who really need them.” Stolen items have been replaced, but the security of the shed is still a concern.
We are now considering what steps to take next. “We have a few problems. We need new air conditioning units and we need to figure out how to get a bigger, more secure shed for storage. These things cost money, and its money we don’t have. The money we raise is going out into the community to help others.” explained Haddon. We are hoping to find a way to do what needs to be done here at our office.
For more information about the recent thefts, tune into 6abc tonight at 5 PM.