REGINA -- A local Regina ringette team says all the bottles collected in a local bottle drive were stolen this week.
The Regina Raptors under-10 team went out together for a bottle drive on Monday night.The team collected over a thousand dollars worth of bottles that would’ve been donated to an Edmonton tournament raising money for cancer research.
The bottles were being stored in a trailer until they could be cashed in.
That trailer was stolen on Wednesday night.
“I was shocked and pretty disappointed,” said Raptors player Storm Lee, 9.
“We did lots of hard work and it just got stolen,” said Amila Lee, another Raptors player.
This is the second time this year a local team has had bottles stolen after a fundraiser.
The Pense Grand Coulee Minor Hockey Association had over $4,000 in bottles in a trailer stolen in September.
Kirsten Lee, an assistant coach with the Raptors, says they’ve been using the situation as a life lesson for the girls.
“The coach has been very kind to say, ‘Don’t worry about the trailer’, it was more the disappointment and explaining to the girls that these things happen,” Lee said.
Since the news of the theft hit social media, the team has received an outpouring of support from the community and beyond.
“Unbelievable, even some of my friends as far as Ottawa have sent money because they said it was easier than sending cans and lots of donations have come our way, it’s been pretty amazing,” Lee said.
Lee adds she doesn’t want to discourage other teams from organizing bottle drives and the team is considering doing another one of their own to raise more funds to donate at the tournament in January.
The trailer is described as 22 feet long, black with a drawbridge back door and a small hole in the side wall. The licence plate on the trailer is 302 IIS, a parent told CTV News Regina.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Regina Police Service.
