On Friday August 20 a donation jar for the Aria MacDonald Trust, containing around $100, was stolen from the front desk of Drury Tires, Auckland.
Anthony Wright, owner of Drury Tires and member of Christian Motorcycle Ministries said, “It always just sat on the desk and it was there on Friday morning. We didn’t notice until a woman said she wanted to donate $20. We just told her slip it into the tin and that’s when she said ‘what tin?’”
Aria MacDonald, a three-and-half-year old girl from Manurewa, Auckland, is currently recovering in Omaha, United States, after undergoing a multiple organ transplant in February this year.
Aria suffers from total intestinal aganglionosis or total Hirschsprung’s disease, a rare bowel condition, which means she cannot digest her food.
“The cost of Aria’s treatment has come to around $2 million,” says Mr Wright. “We have been raising money for her parents’ accommodation and have provided around $3000 over the past three years.” Drury Tires now has a new tin and other ways to make a donation can be found on Aria’s website at www.aria.org.nz “We haven’t called them and told them the bad news but when we do, we’re hoping we can overshadow it with good news,” says Mr Wright. “It’s a sad day when something like this happens but we can turn a negative into a positive by stirring up some compassion and righteous anger.”
