Community Rallies To Support NAWS After Van Burglarized

MOKENA, IL — When the van owned by NAWS in Mokena, a nonprofit no-kill animal shelter, had the catalytic converter stolen, the situation could have gone from bad to worse. The repair would cost somewhere in the $1,200 range, money that NAWS would otherwise use for the benefit of the animals in its shelter. But when NAWS broke the news about the van on a Facebook post to its page, the community responded in a big way.

The staff at NAWS first noticed on Aug. 28 that the van didn't quite sound right when it was running. Being that the van is about 10 years old, staff thought that perhaps it was time to get the exhaust repaired or replaced. So, they took the van to get looked at on Sept. 1, and that's when they got the upsetting news that someone had stolen the catalytic converter.

“We were quite upset about it, obviously,” said Jeannine Huck, president of NAWS Board of Directors. “So many emotions. We were frustrated, disappointed, just sad that somebody would steal from a charity.

"To steal is bad. To steal from a charity is just a new level of bad.”

The people at NAWS were so upset, in fact, that they took to social media to call out the van burglar. That’s when the responses came flooding in.

“Before we knew it, the wonderful family of supporters we have just jumped up and stepped in,” Huck said. “We were just so humbled and so grateful to everybody who stepped forward.”

People on social media suggested that NAWS set up a fundraiser, so that's what Huck did late in the evening Sept. 1. By the following morning, donations were pilling up.

More than $3,200 was donated by community members on the fundraising page for NAWS that Huck set up. And it wasn't just individuals who donated; local businesses also responded with generous donations.

Kevin Szabo, owner of Kevin Szabo Jr. Plumbing in Mokena, dropped off a check for $1,200 to cover the entire cost of the needed repairs. Steve Suarez, owner of R.J. Graham Plumbing in Tinley Park, showed up to the shelter with another check for $300.

“NAWS does so much for the community and never expects anything in return," Szabo said. "They help out all the cats and dogs and everybody in the community. And they run 100 percent on donations, so why not help out somebody that’s always helping out everybody else?”

Suarez said he had a personal experience that prompted him to help NAWS in its time of need.

“I had that happen to me on one of my work trucks when I first started out, and it’s a very irritating feeling when you get in your vehicle and it sounds like a race car," Suarez said. "So I said, ‘Well, I’m not a mechanic, but maybe I can make a donation to help out.’”

Suarez and NAWS, incidentally, are not the only ones to be targeted by thieves looking to make a quick buck off of stolen catalytic converters. In 2019, thefts peaked at about 578 per month, according to data compiled by National Insurance Crime Bureau. In 2020, the peak reached 2,347 per month.

But there's an even better twist in this bad news to great news story: It turned out that all those donations would not go toward fixing the van because Kalli Dawley, owner of Frankfort Auto Clinic at 7826 Lincoln Highway, decided to do the repair — and throw in an oil change and a tune up, to boot — free of charge.

“I love animals, and the person who brought the van here is a very good customer," Dawley said. "And a lot of my good customers — we have a lot of good customers — are on the board at NAWS. And it wasn’t their fault that that happened. All my customers who saw the [Facebook post] when NAWS put it up that someone stole their catalytic converter, all my customers started calling here saying, ‘Oh, Kalli, I’ll help you. I’ll pay $100, I’ll pay $50. I’ll help NAWS.’ And I just said, ‘Nah, I’ll do it. I’m just going to do it all.’”

So instead of having to shell out money for the van, Huck said, NAWS can now use the donations to directly help the animals at the shelter that need medical treatment.

“We have so many animals that need specialized care,” Huck said. “One of the things that we do is we’re able to bring so many pets that need medical treatment into our program, into our rescue program, because we do have a veterinary clinic. But some of [the animals] really need specialized treatment. We run into situations where maybe they need an amputation, or some situations with cats where they need an eye removal, and we have to go to a specialist for those things.”

For Szabo, at least, it didn't matter that the money he donated ended up going toward something other than the van's repairs.

“I am so glad that somebody else was able to help them out," Szabo said. "The fact that the money still gets to be used for the animals is a warm feeling in your heart. I love that all the businesses came together to help them out. That’s how it should be.”

NAWS is located at 9981 W. 190th St. Unit A in Mokena. Visit the NAWS website for more information on the services it offers.

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