Maryland Book Bank Still Searching For Stolen Van Used To Collect Book Donations
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Maryland Book Bank is asking for help to find a stolen van used to collect thousands of book donations for kids.
Someone stole the van outside a building on Union Avenue in North Baltimore sometime between July 22 and early in the morning of July 23.
Program manager Kimberly Crout came to work at the Maryland Book Bank that day and was surprised to find the van not there.
"We noticed it was gone, so really within hours we had to scramble to figure out what we were going to be doing," Crout said.
Crout said the van travels all over Baltimore, picking up thousands of book donations for homes, schools and libraries for kids.
"We're a small staff that do a lot in the community, so having this van taken from us or stolen from us just makes our day to day a little harder," Crout said.
Displayed on the side of the van are pictures of books and their motto, "Donate a book, change a child's life,"
Court said oftentimes they sell books online to help support the children's program and use the van to then drop off the purchased books at the post office.
"We just really want our van back," She said.
The Book Bank is on track to distribute over 400,000 books this year, and Crout said they're still determined to make that happen.
"We're sustainable no matter what, so we're not going to stop what we're doing and frankly we're not going to slow down,"
They're asking if anyone has seen the van or has any information about the incident, call police. The plate number is 8BK4557.