WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — Thieves broke into the Granite Education Foundation's Donation and Distribution Center on Christmas Eve, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage and loss.
"They ruffled through what we call retail, where all of our clothing is. They stole a 75-inch TV," said Remi Prince with the Granite Education Foundation. "They caused a lot of damage to our facility and stole about $50,000 and created about $50,000 total damage right to our facility."
Prince says half of the kids in the Granite School District qualify for free and reduced lunch.
The programming at the foundation, Prince says, is focused on food assistance and basic needs like clothing, which includes shoes.
On Monday, Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals FC and America First Credit Union helped fill the void.
"We teamed up with our partners America First Credit Union to donate 650 pairs of shoes, some RSL jerseys, some blankets, some hats and other merchandise that we had to make sure that their warehouse was whole and that their students had what they need to be successful in the classroom," said Kyle Schroeder, the vice president of community relations for Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals.
Schroeder says hearing what happened to the foundation was heartbreaking, adding that this nonprofit serves some of the students who are most in need.
"We're lucky we have our club partners, Adidas — they do outfit our players, our first team players, so we reached out to them as well and they're coming able to come through and help us out to make sure that we could provide as much shoes as possible," said Schroeder.
While the donation was big, players for both RSL and the Royals also volunteered their time, as well as members of America First Credit Union.
"I cannot imagine what this community went through, losing all that merchandise. So, yeah, just being out here and giving all that we can and doing what we can for that community is so important. This is our home and we want to support them," said Kate Del Fava, a defender for the Royals.
Del Fava and Andrew Brody, a defender for RSL, spent part of their afternoon sorting through canned goods and boxes, as well as helping prepare and pack meal kits.
"The community supports us each and every weekend and they're a huge part of our success over the years. So any time we can get out here and repay them, it's amazing," said Brody.
It was a huge lift after what was a pretty tough time for this foundation.
"This is going be a really, really big boon to what we're able to provide to our students," said Prince.
According to the foundation's website, the school district has approximately 60,000 students and more than 85 schools.
