An Oakland organization that aims to help kids is in need of help itself.
The nonprofit has been gutted by thieves and said if something doesn’t break their way, the program is at risk of folding.
“Now we need to start all over from scratch,” said Diana Leon, executive director of Running for a Better Oakland.
With just weeks until hundreds of kids are expected to fill an empty Snow Park in Oakland, Leon hopes she can keep the mission of Running for a Better Oakland alive.
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That mission is to keep kids off the streets by keeping them active and teaching life skills.
“We have to do it,” said Leon. “I don’t want to look in the kids' faces and say ‘we can’t start.’”
That determination is almost all the executive director has left after thieves stole her nonprofit's van out of this secured parking lot with nearly $30,000 of equipment inside.
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“All of our equipment, all of our running gear is stored in the van,” said Leon. “I don’t understand what value it could give to other people.”
The nonprofit hosts free fitness camps for 250 students -- kids like Vilma Rodriguez.
Their goal goes well beyond the finish line, teaching skills to sprint toward a better future.
Rodriguez spent five years in the program and believes the lessons learned on the field are the reason she’s in college today.
“I had doubts about going to college before this program, after it I was very sure,” said Rodriguez. “They gave me a grant that helped me jump start.”
Police recently recovered the stolen van but say it was gutted. It’s the second time this year their van has been broken into and each time, thieves did thousands of dollars in damage.
Now the group says it needs to find $20,000 to keep the program alive -- a hurdle Leon hopes the community can help them clear to get back in the race.
“The risk is we would not have the program for all of our students and I just don’t want to believe that would be the case,” said Leon.
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