BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A nonprofit clothing store that provides services to vulnerable women said it is out thousands of dollars after someone broke into the store on Monday evening.
The burglary happened at “My Sister’s Closet” where Executive Director Sandy Keller and her team found the door wide open when they arrived at the store on Tuesday morning.
“There was glass all over the place where they had busted in our front door to get in,” Keller said.
Keller looked back at the video from the store’s surveillance camera and saw a hooded man, who was wearing gloves, going in and out of the building stealing merchandise and electronics.
“They took our change jar. They took our computers,” Keller said. “They took a microscope we’ve gotten that helps us look at gifts of jewelry for fundraisers.”
Keller said the burglar also stole several designer handbags and cleared out all of the jewelry cases. The thief also smashed store displays and ransacked Keller’s office.
“We are still finding more things to put on our list to give to the police,” Keller said. “It’s a lot of stuff.”
In total, Keller estimates that everything taken was worth upwards of $50 thousand. It’s a major blow for her store that works to provide vulnerable women with clothes for job interviews, everyday essentials and life skill lessons.
“I don’t know what is ticking in your mind when you were thinking that you want to hurt an organization that is helping the general public,” Keller said. “Nobody in here makes a living wage. Nobody in here gets benefits. People are here because they want to make a difference.”
The surveillance video of the burglary has been turned over to police.
Keller believes the burglar was a man who had come into the store days prior and asked for help, which she gave to him. She says that makes it even worse. Now she has to focus on figuring out how to make up for the loss on an already razor-thin budget.
“We’re not going to stop. We are going to try as long as we possibly can,” Keller said. “We are going to try somehow to figure it out.”
Anybody with any information should call Bloomington Police.
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