Media Release May 2009

Theft Fails To Dampen Charity's Spirits

Switching off the lights and locking up last Friday afternoon, the team at Cure Kids joined their fellow Aucklanders heading into evening traffic. The planned relaxing weekend was cut short early on Saturday 9 May when CEO Kaye Parker received a phone call advising her of a break-in at the Cure Kids office in Eden Terrace.

Despite a security response time of just four minutes from the moment burglars jimmied the door open and ripped the siren from the ceiling, the thieves got away with five laptops containing vital Cure Kids information and documents, along with the office’s petty cash store. Police believe the offenders wore gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints.

“This is not the first time we have been targeted,” Ms Parker says. “Thieves have attempted to break in previously without success, although just two weeks ago there was a robbery in the office above ours in which several laptops were stolen.”

Ms Parker says that to steal from a charity is “incredibly low” and is costly both in time and in the loss of crucial business equipment. “It is a tremendous inconvenience to lose work devices and documents which will take time and money to replace, and this affects our ability to help sick children through funding research into life threatening illnesses, which is Cure Kids’ purpose.”

About Cure Kids
Cure Kids has facilitated and funded over $21m of outcome driven research for children which has improved the quality of life and saved thousands of children’s lives in New Zealand and hundreds and thousands of children’s lives around the world.

Cure Kids is more committed than ever to help find answers to the many cruel, life-threatening illnesses that devastate the lives of young children and their families. www.curekids.org.nz

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