DETROIT (WXYZ) — Volunteers at St. Hyacinth Roman Catholic Church in Detroit's Poletown neighborhood say they were robbed earlier this week.
A thief broke in and stole dozens of donations for an upcoming charity event.
Parishioners say the church is struggling financially and the fundraiser helps them pay the bills.
"Normally, those tables there would be the raffle with the TV, the shop vac, the vacuum and all the electronics," said Susan Kraus, chairwoman for St. Hyacinth's Evangelization Committee.
Kraus was pointing toward a table in the old school building next to the church that would normally be filled with the priciest donations. It's where they hold their annual Banana Festival and raffle off donations.
"All that was put in, someone donated that. And I felt so bad for the donor and I felt bad for our parishioners," Kraus said.
Kraus and Banana Festival Chairman Mark Zauner say the thief entered through a window, broke the grate, then the window and wandered into the building.
"The police told us to get a security system, but we can't afford it," Kraus said.
The thief got away with a flat screen TV and some pricey appliances.
"It is just unthinkable that someone would steal from a church," Zauner said.
Zauner believes the person who broke in first tried to steal the church's 2,500-gallon water heater. Saw marks are still visible on the pipes.
"Water sprayed up on the lights, so there's damage there too," Zauner said.
A whole room was flooded when Zauner walked in Tuesday morning.
Now, the church is dealing with costly repairs and scrambling to replace high-ticket donations.
"It is our biggest fundraiser for the year — it pays our heat bill," Zauner said. "We are a small church, we are all small parish and we just don't have a lot of people donating."
Kraus says St. Hyacinth is one of the last churches that belong to Polonia in America. It's been in Detroit for 100 years and parishioners are determined to keep it afloat.
"I would just hope that those individuals have a change of heart and bring back the stuff to us," Kraus said. "If not, I don't know. I just hope that maybe some other people can come forward and help us out a little bit."
The Banana Festival is happening on Oct. 1.
If you want to help the church replace what they lost, you can drop items off at the rectory at 3151 Farnsworth Street. You can also call the church 313-922-1507.
