Calling all Myrtle Beach people :)

If you live in this area they could still use some help... I can't believe people would do this! Well there are still good people in the world
:)
sfb

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THEFT | More than $6,000 worth of donated presents taken
Burglars steal holiday gifts

By Emma Ritch
The Sun News

'I can't even conceive somebody would steal from a child. ...They had to know where [the toys] were going. It would take an evil person.'
Barb Mains | Caring 4 Kids program director


The thieves who almost stole Christmas from 900 kids Wednesday night weren't counting on two things: the resiliency of Barb Mains and the generosity of the people of Horry County.

Mains, director of Caring 4 Kids, and her volunteers walked into their storage facility Thursday morning to find weeks of hard work ruined. More than $6,000 worth of gifts were gone, and thieves slashed the wrapping paper on all the gifts that remained.

"Every kid on that list is going to have a Christmas, no matter what we have to do," Mains said Thursday.

Mains and the volunteers couldn't let down the kids, many of whom are from the rural areas of Horry County, including Green Sea and Nichols. After all, some of those kids from needy households have depended on Caring 4 Kids for 15 years and wouldn't get presents otherwise, Mains said.

"I can't even conceive somebody would steal from a child," Mains said. "They had to know where [the toys] were going. It would take an evil person."

As she re-wrapped gifts, Mains was quick to point out that it could have been worse.

The first miracle was that all but 150 gifts had been delivered by Wednesday, Mains said.

The second was when the U.S. Marine Corps, which runs Toys for Tots, heard about the theft early Thursday, the group donated an 18-foot truck full of toys.

"Within an hour they were here with a big truckful," Mains said. "... The Marines will save you. They saved us."

Miracle three: The thieves didn't take everything. They might have found the air hockey table and the 18 bicycles a little to heavy to sneak off with, Mains said.

Still, there was too much to do with the time left, volunteers said. They were in search of replacement gifts and had to load and deliver the remaining toys.

"We're not even going to have time to wrap them now," said volunteer Trisha Smith. "The mommas are going to have to do it."

Mains cried Thursday as she and the other volunteers surveyed the room off U.S. 501 in Myrtle Beach. All of what she called the best toys - the Bratz dolls, the Barbies, the CD players, the karaoke machines - were gone. The thieves even took the radio that volunteers listened to while organizing gifts.

Thieves tried to kick in the metal side door late Wednesday or early Thursday, cracking it but ultimately failing. Then they hopped the barbed-wire fence to take a cinder block to the wooden back door, creating a hole that they used to unlock the door, the police report said.

The building was donated for Caring 4 Kids' use this holiday by Woodmen of the World, a nonprofit life insurance group.

Julie Brannock, the treasurer of Woodmen of the World lodge, said they would replace the doors with stronger, commercial-grade doors. Still, Mains and the volunteers scrambled to get all the toys out of the building Thursday so the thieves would have nothing left to steal if they returned.

"[Thieves] can either re-gift them, or try to pawn them, or use them for their own personal goods," said police spokesman Capt. David Knipes. Knipes said pawn shops are required to turn in the pawn slips, which could help police catch the thieves.

Also, police took fingerprints from the doors, which Knipes said could be helpful. The thieves also left a knife, the police report said.

"I never imagined you could pawn a doll," Mains said.

Smith said thieves likely spotted volunteers unloading donations from Surfside Christian Church on Wednesday night. Almost all those gifts were gone, Mains said.

Next year, Mains doesn't plan on too many changes, but she'll try to keep next year's storage facility a secret. "We believe that next year, this won't happen again. We won't look back," she said. "We have faith. We believe in people."
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To donate

Caring 4 Kids is still in need of toys to replace those that were stolen. The group will make deliveries through at least Sunday. Some of the gifts that were stolen were Bratz dolls, Barbies, CDs, Walkmans, CD players, karaoke machines, Atari hand-held joystick games, basketballs and footballs. Some of the gifts were specially requested by ill children, Barb Mains said. "If there's a crying baby [doll] anywhere in Myrtle Beach, we need it for a little girl," Mains said. To donate toys, call 497-5457 or send gifts to 6302 N. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, SC 29572.
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