Cameras caught thieves stealing $4,000 worth of lawn mowing and snow removal equipment that teens with the Lawn Academy in Detroit use to help Detroit seniors, veterans and disabled residents.
But, thanks to the generosity of other residents and business owners, the nonprofit is back up and running, and growing more than ever.
The Lawn Academy provides free lawn care and snow removal services to those who need it.
The cameras captured footage of the thieves cutting locks prior to the equipment being stolen. The thieves emptied the storage unit and took every piece of equipment the group used.
The donations started pouring in after Local 4 news in Detroit ran a story about the theft Thursday evening.
Donations pour in to replace stolen lawn equipment that nonprofit uses to help Detroiters https://t.co/FOsUSYX1dK
— Local 4 WDIV Detroit (@Local4News) July 21, 2018
Lawn Academy founder Eric Miller said his phone hasn’t stopped ringing with people wanting to help, Channel 4 Detroit recently reported.
“The minute things aired on the news, less than three minutes, I started getting the calls saying, ‘We’re going to support you,’ and calls haven’t stopped since last night,” Miller said.
Thanks to Mark Davidoff, a partner of Deloitte in Detroit, Miller walked into a Home Depot on Friday to find carts piled high with the equipment needed to keep his nonprofit running, Channel 4 reported.
“What’s going through my heart right now is you have Detroiters who care,” Miller said.
Alejandro Jones, with AJ’s Transportation, was among the business owners who made a donation.
“I can stand here and take all the credit, but it’s God. I’m just delivering what God told me to do,” he said.
The donations will allow the organization to not only replace all the equipment that was stolen, but also expand.
