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Packages of clothing for children in need stolen from woman's Northern Liberties doorstep

Published  December 12, 2016 10:42pm EST
U.S.
FOX 29 Philadelphia

NORTHERN LIBERTIES (WTXF) - "We're doing something for kids in our community."

Danielle Scheffey and her friends on social media are in a giving mood this holiday season. They've donated and collected dozens of coats, hats and gloves for kids at the G.W. Childs School in South Philadelphia.

"A lot of their kids between the ages of 8 and 14 don't have enough money to get basic essentials like winter coats, hats, scarves etc.," Danielle told FOX 29.

People have been shipping those items to Danielle for weeks now, but Friday's shipment hit a snag right on her front door step when some Grinch like thief stole several packages from people who donated. It was all caught on tape.

"Everyone kind of loses out except for the person who committed the crime, so all of the people who helped you, that stuff would have gone to kids. Yeah," she explained.

Danielle's surveillance cameras outside her Northern Liberties home also caught the guy casing the place several times before he struck.

"He had been pacing back and forth up and down my block, waited for a moment when no one was walking their dog by and just came and took the packages," Danielle added.

Danielle reported the theft to police and called FOX 29 with the video. She wants to get the word out to her neighbors about the package thefts and she's hoping more donations will come in for the kids she and her friends are trying to help.

"I hope that this person realizes what he's done," she said. "I think this person doesn't think about the people he's stealing from. He doesn't care about us. He doesn't know where these things are going."

Danielle says she's seen the man in her northern liberties neighborhood over the past few days and called police, but he left the area before police arrived. He's wearing a distinctive police and fire credit union back pack. She's also warned several delivery drivers about the thefts. She plans to deliver the donated items to the Childs Elementary School later this week.