An annual fundraising effort by the North Surrey Lions Club may be coming to an early end this year, after equipment used to operate Movies Under the Stars was part of a theft Sunday morning.
After Saturday's show in Holland Park – the third of four this summer – Lions club members packed roughly $10,000 worth of equipment into a Ford E150 van. Sunday morning, the van and the equipment were gone.
"It was stolen some time between 7 and 10 a.m.," said Glynnis Boulle of the Lions. "We have our last show scheduled for next Saturday (Aug. 28). I don't know if we can do it."
The equipment – which included a popcorn machine, barbecue, tents, tables and generators – was stored overnight in the van outside Boulle's home near 108 Avenue and 129 Street. It was to be unloaded Sunday afternoon.
The Lions club has been showing the movies every Saturday in August for the past three years. Sales of French fries, hot dogs, popcorn, hamburgers and soda pop raise approximately $3,000 annually. The money is passed on to local charities, such as the Surrey Food Bank, and the Mile of Toonies for Surrey Memorial Hospital.
Boulle isn't certain if it was the equipment or the van which was targeted, but the loss of both is a huge hit to the Lions club.
"We're hampered without either," she said. "Without the equipment, we can't run the movies. Without the van, we can't move the equipment."
The public is being asked to call the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502 with any information.
A second charity also fell victim to crime over the weekend.
Oak Avenue Neighbourhood Hub Society suffered a break-in at its offices at 12740 102 Ave.
Co-chair Janice Lanigan said the agency, which supplies clothes to needy kids, runs seniors' lunch programs and puts on community dinners, lost at least $1,000 in donations from its safe.
"They broke in and made an absolute mess," Lanigan said.
"It's a major blow when this happens to a non-profit."
- with files from Jeff Nagel