Vandals target car used for fundraiser
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It took a group of vandals just a few minutes to bring back 30 years of suffering for Margaret MacMillan.
Her husband James, who suffered from kidney disease, passed away in February at age 51. Her nephew John Racine decided then and there to turn his 2007 Mustang GT into a rolling billboard for a fundraiser/awareness event in his memory, set to take place next month.
Sometime after midnight, a group of vandals stole $600 worth of decals advertising the upcoming Steering Towards Hope fundraiser. They poured water, sand and stones down the gas tank, keyed the paint and put rocks up both tailpipes. To top it all off, they took down flower planters from John Racine’s home and placed them on the roof and hood, before opening the valves on the nearby gas barbecue.
It’s not just an attack on the car; as far as Racine and MacMillan are concerned, it is an attack on their family.
“For us this car represented (James) and everything he stood for — and hope,” said Racine. “This was kind of like tearing a bit of hope out of us.”
MacMillan struggles through tears to explain her anger. Her husband was sick from age 20. Their children wrote dozens of ‘Get Well’ letters to him during his many hospital stays. Just as she was getting beyond her grief, the vandalism brought it all back.
“I don’t think people who do this understand what they’re doing to a family,” she said. “The day he passed away, he just looked at me and said, ‘I want to go on a vacation like everybody else. I don’t want to do this (dialysis), but I don’t want to die.’”
“This is not just a vehicle. I know these people don’t know me, but I want them to know what sadness they have brought by this act,” she said.
A young boy nearby saw the vandalism happen and gave a statement to cops, who also took photos and dusted for fingerprints.
The $60,000 car was the main method of advertising the fundraiser. Racine had been taking it to events and cruise nights to promote the event at Scotiabank Place. He also uses the car as part of volunteer motivational speeches he gives to youth groups about avoiding drugs and alcohol.
More information about the Steering Towards Hope event can be found at steeringtowardshope.ca.
Twitter: @DougHempstead
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