Thieves snatched an 80-year-old woman’s car in Portland, as she served Thanksgiving meals to the homeless at her church.
The stolen 1999 Honda Accord also contained the elderly victim’s purse, her own Thanksgiving meal and her bank cards, which were later used to charge $600 to her account in local stores.
The victim, who is a cancer survivor, had parked her car at a local garage as she often does before volunteering at the Union Gospel Mission.
“I feel for these people so much,” Cheryl told Fox 12, only giving her first name. “It’s just a good feeling giving back to your community.”
When she returned from dishing out meals, expecting to be en route to enjoy her own Thanksgiving dinner, her car was gone.
“I knew where I parked it and I looked around in shock,” she said. “I realised then that it was stolen and I started to cry.
“I felt numb; I felt violated,” she added. “I thought: ‘who could do this on Thanksgiving?’”
The woman’s son, Todd Schulberg, launched a GoFundMe to pay for the cost of a new car and to recover the cost of essential items stolen from his mom’s purse.
“She's worked hard all of her life and does not deserve this,” he wrote. “She doesn’t have the resources to purchase another vehicle, and without a car, she can’t get to her medical appointments, her volunteer activities, or even basic errands.
“She deserves stability, safety, and a sense of security after everything she’s been through.”
In his GoFundMe campaign, Schulberg also said that his mom survived on a very limited income and used her car as her primary mode of transport.
She had also beaten breast cancer this year, making the theft even more “emotionally devastating and financially overwhelming.”
Schulberg says that he has filed a police report, searched for the car himself and posted on the PDX stolen cars Facebook page.
So far, his campaign has raised $2,770, although he hopes to raise a total of $12,000.
Despite the setback, Cheryl told Fox 12 that she plans to continue volunteering at the Union Gospel Mission.
“I wouldn’t hesitate,” she said. “I’d definitely go back. “I might not go in my car but I’ll find a way.”
