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Grinch steals truckload of noble firs from North Vancouver charity tree lot

Life imitated a Dr. Seuss Christmas classic last Friday when some Grinch cut their way into a charity Christmas tree lot in Lower Lonsdale, and made off with a load of tannenbaums.
trees stolen

Life imitated a Dr. Seuss Christmas classic last Friday when some Grinch cut their way into a charity Christmas tree lot in Lower Lonsdale, and made off with a load of tannenbaums.

For the last 20 years, Aunt Leah’s Place has been using volunteer-run Christmas tree lots to raise money for programs aimed at preventing children in foster care from becoming homeless, and young mothers from losing custody of their children.

When volunteers arrived at the relatively new lot at 123 Carrie Cates Ct. on Dec. 2, they found that someone had cut the fence open and stolen a swath of trees.

The thief targeted the choicest seven- and eight-foot noble firs, which sell for $16 a foot. With roughly 30 gone, plus the cost of purchasing them wholesale, Aunt Leah’s is out roughly $5,000.

“This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, said Angelina Oates, Aunt Leah’s director of social enterprise. “It basically means we’re just going to have to (raise funds) that much harder throughout the year after Christmas to make up for the loss. We rely a lot on our fundraisers to support all these moms and babies and foster kids.”

North Vancouver RCMP investigators said they would canvas the area for any surveillance footage but so far, it appears there were no witnesses to the tree theft.

“There are no suspects. It’s not like the trees are tagged or marked or anything. Certainly it’s one of those Grinch stories,” said Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman. “One wouldn’t think there’s a black market for stolen Christmas trees but who knows what they’ll do.”

Oates said she prefers to think the trees will wind up in the homes of needy families, rather than on the private lot of some competitor looking to “make a dime.”

Volunteer Lisa Morris said she hopes the public will rally around Aunt Leah’s, heart to heart and hand in hand.

“Not many people know they exist down there,” she said. “They need charity donations. This is an opportunity to buy your Christmas tree from this spot. It might help in making up this money they lost. ... If the public knew and they knew they could help just by buying a tree, it might be a benefit.”

The lot will remain open until Dec. 21, Monday to Thursday from 1 to 8 p.m. and Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.