The issue:
Bike theft from children
WE SAY:
We can make something good come from this
It's a cliché that something good can come out of tragedy - but that doesn't make it any less heartwarming when it happens in an unexpected way.
Last week's letter to the editor from a family whose special needs son's bike was stolen from him provoked an unprecedented response from readers wanting to help the family. In the past, when we've run letters or Darts & Daffodils where someone has been the victim of theft, on occasion a person has come out of the woodwork to contact the paper and offer to help out the victim.
But never in recent memory have we seen the kind of outpouring last week's letter provoked. So far, more than 15 of you have offered help of many kinds, from donations of bikes to cash towards a new bike for the affected boy. Thanks to the generosity of people who have never met him before, he'll be riding a brand-new bicycle soon.
If that were the end of it, it would be a righted wrong and a "good news" story. But the thoughtful young man whose bike was stolen has gone one better, asking the other people who have offered to help if they'd be willing to donate their offered funds or bikes to an organization to help other young victims of theft whose families aren't in a position to replace their bikes.
We're in the process of working with the Squamish RCMP to try to find an organization that does this - and if there isn't one, we're going to help set it up. Our generous donors, who were so willing to help this family out, are thankfully showing the same willingness to help others.
While theft may be considered a petty crime, anyone who's ever had their property stolen knows there's nothing petty about the feelings of loss, violation and helplessness that come when something cherished is taken - and it's even worse when children are the ones made to suffer by it. Those who steal from kids are stealing more than possessions; they're stealing innocence.
We can't take back what happened to this young man - but what these generous people have done is remind him and his family that Squamish is a community that cares.
He's taught us something, too: one good action can cancel out a host of bad ones. At least, that's what we hope will happen if this letter can lead to a way to get more kids who have had their bikes stolen back on wheels.
