Anonymous residents replenish stolen center funds
SNOHOMISH - After more than $2,000 was stolen from the Snohomish Senior Center last month, the community has rallied to replace the funds.
The first donation came when a woman left a Christmas card at the senior center just three days before Christmas.
Center director Bob Dvorak just missed her, having returned from running some errands for the center shortly after she left the card. She didn’t sign in at the front desk either. The anonymous woman had included five crisp $100 bills in her card.
After that, senior center members and others in the community have chipped in small amounts to make up most of the difference.
Two weeks ago, the remainder of the approximately $2,000 stolen was replaced when some friends of the center cut a check for $800, Dvorak said. A friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, asked Dvorak how much was still needed to break even, and upon hearing the amount wrote a check without hesitation for the amount, Dvorak said.
“It just goes to show we really are a small town with a big heart,” Dvorak said last week. “It’s amazing the kind of support that we have here.”
The police continue to follow leads on the theft, which occurred sometime after the senior center’s Dec. 3 pancake breakfast.
The loss includes the funds stolen after the December pancake breakfast, as well as the cost of replacing the locks after the intrusion, Dvorak said.
The center holds a $5 pancake breakfast on the first Saturday of each month to raise money for the center’s operating costs.
Dvorak last week predicted that the Jan. 7 breakfast was going to be “slammed by lots of people” based on the recent outpouring of support the senior center has received.

By STEPHANIE KOSONEN
Published Jan. 11, 2012