A longtime organization became the victim of a theft in broad daylight over the weekend.

The Wahiawa Lions Club was raising funds for their annual breakfast event when a man on a bicycle stole their cash.

The organization has been collecting donations outside the Longs Drugs in Wahiawa for 30 years.

Lion’s Rene Mansho and Larry Meacham were outside the store on Saturday, they started their two-hour shift around noon.

“People are walking by, putting their dollar bills in our little plastic jar, and we’re talking to them and thanking them,” Mansho recalls.

She said the jar was filled to the brim with cash.

They were almost done for the day when around 1:45 p.m., a man starting riding towards them.

“We’re sitting there and we watch this guy on a bicycle just riding by, then he sticks his arms out and just lifts the jar and rides away,” she said.

Mansho started yelling for help or for someone to stop the man, but no one was in the parking lot at the time.

Meacham started running after the suspect but lost him as the suspect headed towards California Avenue.

Mansho said the man was wearing all black and was riding a black bicycle.

“This is our hometown, so you think about how you’re safe and you’re trusting and then something like this happens and you get this reality check, ‘Wake Up,’” Mansho said.

Shortly after the incident happened, Mansho posted what had happened on social media. Soon, people in the community started reaching out to help.

“I was scrolling through social media, and saw it,” said Danika Crisostomo, general manager of Teddy’s Bigger Burgers in Wahiawa.

“I was like, ‘this is our community,’ so I reached out to my owners and said, ‘hey, can we do something to help them out because they work so hard,’” she said.

The owners agreed, and so on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, Teddy’s Bigger Burgers will donate 10% of all their proceeds from the day to Lion’s Club Wahiawa.

The organization hosts the annual Veterans Day parade in Wahiawa—one of the oldest parades in the state. They also donate eyeglasses to communities.

The Wahiawa Lions Club will be out fundraising again this Saturday, and says they’ll be more vigilant and keep the jar closer to them.

HPD has classified the case as theft in the third degree. No arrest has been made at this time.

If you have any information on the theft, contact police.

The public can also purchase tickets for their annual fundraising breakfast, which will be held Sunday, April 7, from 7 to 11 a.m. at Kaala Elementary School, 130 California Avenue in Wahiawa.

Donations by mail are also being accepted to Wahiawa Lions Club P.O. Box 860651, Wahiawa, HI 96786.