‘It’s really shameful’: $1,500 taken from Kamloops kettles during two separate thefts

The second theft occurred Wednesday night at Superstore around 7 p.m. as the kettle operation was wrapping up for the evening.

As a staff member and volunteer were walking to the parking lot with the kettle money, someone came up from behind and took the cash.

“So our staff member retrieved the kettle, which is the process that happens at the end of each day, and as he was returning to his vehicle to go to his next pick-up, someone came up behind him and grab the bag,” said Kamloops Salvation Army Cpt. Corey Fifield. “He actually ripped the bag open because our staff member kept a hold of the bag, and so tore the bag open, and the kettle came out and he pick it up and ran.”

The staff member fell, but thankfully only received bumps and bruises. The volunteer was unharmed. Kamloops RCMP are looking into both incidents.

“We’re just urging the public to come forward and help us identify a suspect — if they saw anything in the area or have any surveillance or dashcam footage,” said Evelyn. “Both these robberies happened at times when there were quite a bit of people out and about, so we’re hoping someone saw something.”

She added, “These are two robberies in two days involving Christmas collection donations. It’s really shameful.”

Between the two robberies, the local Salvation Army estimates there was about $1,500 taken. However, its biggest concern now is for the safety of the volunteers and staff. “And the optics of it. Do they feel safe?” said Fifield. “I believe they are safe, but that doesn’t mean every volunteer [feels safe]. We hope volunteers don’t see this and go ‘Oh, is it safe for me to do this?'”

There will be an additional staff member from now until Christmas to help avoid another dangerous situation. The organization is also hoping these thefts don’t take away from the great work of volunteers and the whole community.

“We know how incredible this community is and the city of Kamloops, and we know this is not reflective of our community,” noted Fifield.

by Chad Klassen

‘It’s really shameful’: $1,500 taken from Kamloops kettles during two separate thefts

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