Just 10 days before Christmas, thieves ransacked a Hesperia toy drive stealing thousands of dollars' worth of present intended for children whose families can't afford gifts.
"I can't believe someone would do this," Don Ferrarese, who works at the toy drive, said.
He was having trouble accepting the fact that the toys - and coins in gallon jugs the workers had been collecting - were gone, especially since the lot was stolen when the team was out of the office sponsoring a veterans' tribute.
The Santa's Sleigh Toy Drive at the Don Ferrarese Charitable Foundation gathers wish lists from 200 underprivileged kids in the area and helps fulfill their holiday wishes.
But now those wishes - worth about $3,500 in conservative estimates - are gone.
"Most of these kids that we've [given to] through the years have never had a present," Ferrarese, a former major league pitcher, said.
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Someone busted through the front window of the office in the 12000 block of Poplar Street, the charitable foundation said.
It wasn't just toys that were stolen: Five-gallon water jugs filled with about $1,500 worth of coins intended to help deserving families were also stolen.
"That someone can think that their need, their hunger is more important than any other peoples' - it's hard for me to fathom the selfishness of others to put their needs over others," Dan Tate, president and CEO the Don Ferrarese Charitable Foundation, said.
But the frustration wasn't just directed at the thieves.
"There's so many more businesses on this complex, and not one person called the cops," Joshua Tate, employee, said. "Not one person let us know. We had to show up ourselves to see the door bashed in."
Despite the big dent in their holiday gift bag, Ferrarese said he and his charity will get through this, and the children will still have a present to unwrap on Christmas day.
"The community has been generous," Ferrarese said. "You can't say enough about the people [of Victor Valley.] I'm sure that we will get rewarded somehow. Hopefully the people who stole will get rewarded too - the wrong way of course."
Hesperia authorities were asking the public to watch out for anyone who is trying to convert large amounts of coins into cash.
They said they were also hoping nearby businesses will have surveillance video that can help identify the burglars.
Anyone with information on the incident was encouraged to call the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department at (909) 884-0156.
If anyone would like to help the Don Ferrarese Charitable Foundation , the team can be reached at (760) 951-8003.
