Make-A-Wish office receives big donations following break-in

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Nov. 30 is Giving Tuesday, but some folks in a community are already giving back.

A few weeks ago, KOB 4 told you about a break-in at the Make-A-Wish New Mexico’s office.

“I’m just upset,” said Sara Lister, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish New Mexico.

Lister said she could not believe someone broke into her office to steal checks and gift cards and a laptop meant for all the kids she works to help.

Two weeks later, she had many different emotions with two giant donations from three different groups who could not ignore what happened.

"It’s so disappointing to see something like that happen in our community, especially to Make-A-Wish,” said Justin Cheney with the Albuquerque Area Firefighters Union.

The Albuquerque Area Firefighters Union turned a donation from Chisolm Trail RV meant for the union, into a $10,000 donation for Make-A-Wish.

The break-in got the same reaction from the 501st Legion, a group of Star Wars fans who enjoy sharing their love for Star Wars with the community.

"When we heard about their break-in, it was kind of natural to just jump in and try to help them out,” said Tye Odell with 501st Legion.

They held an auction and donated an additional $2,500 to Make-A-Wish.

Needless to say, the donations are reminders that despite the negatives, there’s still plenty of good in our community, too.

"We got a call saying that there was a surprise donation that we would be receiving today,” Lister said.

She said there are no updates to the investigation of the break-in. But she also said it never distracted them from working to grant the wishes of more than 150 children in New Mexico.