CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. β A Chester church received a generous donation on Sunday after thieves stole money meant to feed hundreds of families during the holidays.
"Oh man, it was rough," said Didi Gray, pastor of Redemption Church.
Gray runs the Engage Food Pantry, which lost $10,000 when someone stole and cashed a check in October. The money was meant to buy 100 turkeys, 100 hams and all the fixings for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. The pantry serves about 200 people weekly.
After CBS 6 aired a story about the theft on Friday, community members began offering help.
"People have called us saying they're going to buy turkeys, people have called us saying they're going to pledge donations," Gray said. "So I am excited. I'm believing that we are going to recoup what we lost."
RELATED: Chester food pantry 'in limbo' after $10,000 donation check stolen: 'We're asking for turkeys'
But the biggest surprise came on Sunday when Pastor AJ Johnson of Kingdom Life Church in Chesterfield presented Gray with a replacement check for $10,000.
"After we saw the story on the news, my wife showed me and it just touched our hearts," Johnson said.
Johnson, who worked as a Feed More regional manager for 16 years before becoming a pastor, understands how important food pantries are to the community.
"I know the lives that are being touched through the food pantry, especially during these times," Johnson said. "So I said, 'You know what. We're going to replace that so that no beat is missed as it relates to food, turkeys and making sure everyone gets what they need.'"
Gray was overwhelmed by the donation.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts," she said.
Johnson hopes his church's act of generosity reminds people that giving can be simple, even during tough times.
"We say at our church, 'We live to give,'" Johnson said. "We even shared a little bit with our congregation today and they were so excited and everybody shouted β they were like, 'Man, yes we're glad to be a part of this.'"
Gray is looking forward to helping those in need this holiday season.
"And I can't wait to give you part three when I figure out how much we got and how many people, so you can get the update of how many people we were able to help," she said.
Chesterfield Police are still investigating the theft of the original check.
Anyone with information about the stolen check is asked to call Chesterfield Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
π²: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
