Polly Joo says she always knew she lived in a tight-knit community, but she never expected the help she and her husband received when their convenience store was robbed just before Christmas.
Xue and her husband Andy own Lucky Conveniences, a staple in Toronto's Junction neighborhood. Just after midnight on Dec. 21, two masked men broke down the back door and quickly took $9,000 worth of cigarettes, Xu said.
“We just thought, we worked so hard and then just one minute, one minute they took it,” Xu said.
But as soon as it was taken, it was given back.
When neighbors heard what happened, they rallied to raise money for the Xues through an online campaign that later collected more than the value of the stolen goods.
“We feel, wow, so many people care so much about us,” Xue said.
Daniel Wahlen, a neighbor and fellow business owner who owns a chain of coffee shops in the area, says he found out about the crime the next day when he noticed the back door had been replaced and told a friend when he got home.
“We were both really worried, wondering what we could do for them,” he said.
They decided to set up a GoFundMe right before Christmas, which quickly raised more than $9,000. As of Monday, 175 have been donated, totaling just under $9,500.
The response came as no surprise to the couple.
“We know it's a very tight neighborhood and community, and they all love it, so we were pretty sure it would come to the neighborhood,” Wahlen said, adding that he had heard from others who had the same. idea
“If we don't start a GoFundMe, someone else definitely will,” he said.
Vahlen's partner, Trang Nguyen, said while he was saddened by the news of the robbery, it did not call into question the safety and security of the area.
“In many ways, it makes me feel better to be surrounded by people who care about each other,” she said. “It shows how much the neighborhood appreciates Polly and Andy and how hard they work.”
Xue says she and her husband feel the same way. Along with the online campaign, she says she feels more warmed by people coming out in person after the event.
“On December 24, right, (the store) was very busy, like unusually busy,” Xue said.
“They come here, they give me a card and then some people give us money and give us a card,” she said. “The people here are very nice, very kind here.”
