Donation can theft spurs donations
After the theft of a donation box intended for 5-year-old cancer sufferer Alexandra Schaney made the news, people are making a point to contribute to the cause, according to the girl’s aunt. “People have called Panera and are taking stuff up for the box. We have received a few anonymous donations. And the Moose from Connellsville and Uniontown have become involved in giving a corporate sponsorship for Alexandra. Several churches are also becoming involved,’ said Christine Schaney.
State police arrested Douglas Lee Gump, 19, and Mary Elizabeth Landman, 44, both of Greensboro, and charged them with theft by unlawful taking, conspiracy to commit theft and receiving stolen property last week following the theft of a donation box from Panera Bread on Matthew Drive in South Union Township.
The box at Panera was one of many fundraisers being held for Alexandra, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer affecting less than 600 children nationwide each year. This cancer affects the sensitive nervous system and/or the Adrenal Glands. Alexandra, the only child of Fayette County native Clint Schaney and his wife, Kelly, of Charlotte, North Carolina, is undergoing treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Schaney, Alexandra’s aunt, said she won’t know the amount of the donations until the end of the month. This is part of a Panera program to collect for charities called Operation Donation.
In addition, Schaney is encouraging people to visit Panera’s on Friday when the restaurant will donate the day’s proceeds from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. to the Angels for Alexandra, the Alexandra Schaney Cancer Treatment Fund.
Despite the theft, Schaney noted that people in Fayette County are going out of their way to help Alexandra, something the Schaney family has not experienced in Charlotte, N.C., where people in big cities don’t know each other as well.
“It’s touching,’ Schaney said. “It shows how much Fayette County cares and what a close-knit community we are and how we pull together when something bad happens – whatever it is: a hurricane or a sick child or adult. They’ve taken this little girl into their hearts to help her.’