TRUMBULL, Conn. — Trumbull Police and the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Connecticut are asking for the public's help after their field near and dear to their heart was vandalized last weekend.
"We're very distraught, very upset," said Carin Buckman, marketing and communications manager of Make-a-Wish Connecticut.
What is meant to be a sanctuary for children to celebrate their milestones and connect with the community is now a circle of large tire tracks dug deep into the soil.
Make-a-Wish Alumni, Jake Beneski who now works for the foundation was the first to discover the damage.
It hit personally for him as someone who has been a part of many events on the field.
"As I got closer, I saw somebody was doing donuts and just the damage. It was a couple inches deep of the tire tracks so I was disheartened," said Beneski.
The culprits are still on the loose. Buckman told FOX61 Trumbull Police are looking at surveillance footage but it did not clearly capture the license plate.
The foundation has been struggling to find the funds to fix it.
"We are really committed to having those funds go directly to our local Connecticut wish kids to grant our local mission so any funds that we would need to use would take away from the wishes of the wish kids," said Buckman.
Those wishes are what have completed a kid's journey at the foundation.
Without donations, many of the children would not have access to all of the joy the building has brought them as they undergo a tough time in their lives.
To see those tire tracks is more than just vandalism to Buckman, it is taking away a kid's dream.
"Doing this to anybody and thinking that this is a form of enjoyment is so not okay," said Buckman.
In dire need of help, Buckman posted on the Facebook group, "Trumbull Helps" and immediately, Jeff Kunkel, a Trumbull resident jumped in to help.
"I told everybody that shows up - bring two bags of topsoil, a rake, a shovel, some seeds," said Kunkel.
So far, Kunkel said more than 20 people have stepped up to help.
"Helping is helping and it's a simple thing," said Kunkel.
If you would like to volunteer to help clean the field, volunteers will be meeting at the field at 56 Commerce Drive in Trumbull at 10 a.m. on March 26.
To RSVP for the event, you may contact Jeff Kunkel on Facebook or contact the Make-a-Wish Foundation at (203) 880-6971.
Carmen Chau is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at cchau@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter
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