WEST BOYLSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Police are investigating after someone stole the charity money Christ Lutheran Church had been raising from Christmas tree sales.
The church has donated around $40,000 to those in need over the last 15 years.
"All the profit we make, we donate to three local hunger programs," Church Council President Ali Lambert told WBZ-TV. "One is for homeless, one is for children, and one is for the elderly."
But somebody stole some of this year's profits from the church's lock box.
"It had been pried, and it looked as though they must have had some kind of a tool," volunteer Dick Johnson said. "It really tears you up."
Lambert said whoever did this didn't have to.
"It's like, you don't have to steal, you just come into church and ask," he said. "That's what the church is all about."
He said this has never happened before.
"It's just unfortunate," he said. "We don't have video cameras. We've always trusted the honor system, and for 15 years, it's worked."
West Boylston Police are going to increase their patrols as sales of the Christmas trees continue.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports