NSW Bushfires: AHA NSW doubles donations raised by Albion Park pub after charity tins stolen
An Illawarra pub is set to make a generous donation to the RFS despite a callous thief stealing charity tins full of cash from the hotel last week.
Illawarra Star
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The NSW branch of the Australian Hotel Association has made a generous move to donate more than double the amount that was stolen after a brazen thief smashed his way into an Illawarra club and stole two Rural Fire Service donation tins.
Police were called to Albion Park’s Oaks Hotel around 3am on January 14, after a glass door at the back of the property was smashed open, triggering a security alarm.
CCTV footage captured a man run toward the bar and snatch two RFS donation tins from the counter, before taking off through the smashed door.
The Oaks Hotel’s general manager Belinda Williams was left particularly devastated by the attack, knowing her loyal customers had donated more than $400 out of their pockets to assist in the bushfire recovery efforts.
“No words can describe how shocked and disgusted we actually are by the act,” she said.
“You see how many people put money in those tins, and it wasn’t just coins. There was quite a lot of money going in there.”
After hearing of the “horrific” incident, the Australian Hotel Association (AHA) quickly stepped in, donating $1000 to the RFS on the club’s behalf.
“The bushfire emergency right across NSW has touched everyone’s hearts, and everyone’s been digging deep,” AHA NSW director of liquor and policing John Green said.
“So when we heard someone had actually stooped so low as to steal two donation bins from The Oaks Hotel it touched everyone within the AHA.”
Monday’s donation is on top of an initial $250,000 donated by the AHA NSW earlier this month.
Mr Green urged anyone in the Albion Park community with any information about the theft to come forward, in the hope of bringing the thief to justice.
“For the person who committed this act, it’s not too late to bring that property back,” he said.
“(The money) is designed to help a lot of people who’ve been severely impacted upon by the bushfire, so search your soul, do the right thing, and bring it back.”
Police say inquiries into the theft are continuing.