Kiwanis Cash Box Stolen
Last updated 5/4/2018 at 9:27am
Who Would Do This?
All the money in the cash box at the Kiwanis-International Borrego Springs’ grapefruit stand was taken, after being broken into April 18.
According to Kiwanis president Brad Tidwell, when he went to close the stand for the day, he noticed that the door to the cash box was slightly opened. After taking a closer look, he saw that the hasp was broken and there was no money in the box.
A little over $100 was taken. The money from the stand goes toward helping underprivileged children in the community, such as buying backpack lunches.
The cash box was broken into before, 16 years ago.
The stand is all honor system for those who want to buy grapefruit. There are not enough members to physically be at the stand all the time, so it is strictly honor system, Tidwell emphasized.
“Years ago, the Kiwanis Club had a desk where the stand is now, and when I joined, I suggested to have a stand there and volunteered to build it,” Tidwell said.
The stand was built in 1991 by Tidwell and Chuck Engerbretson, and it has become quite the landmark. A Kiwanis member from another chapter even got married in front of it.
Tidwell reported it to sheriff Billy Painter, who is currently investigating the incident, but there are no leads.
It’s such a shame someone would steal the money meant for the children of our community.
If anyone has any information or has recently seen any suspicious activity regarding this incident are urged to contact the sheriff’s department.
Kiwanis is Borrego Springs’ oldest service organization with the first chapter being formed by Borrego’s community leaders over 60 years ago. They are the first re-energized and growing local service organization that is 100 percent focused on the children of Borrego Springs.
