When Monti Price arrived for work at the Hope Center in Woodstock Wednesday morning, she was struck by what she did not see.

“I noticed a big empty space in our parking lot where our trailer used to be,” she said.

Inside that trailer, five brand new cribs intended for needy mothers like Angela, who earned them by attending parenting classes. Angela arrived at the ministry for pregnant women and new mothers on Thursday afternoon, hoping to pick up the crib for her three-month old son, David.

“Just to find out this,” she said, shaking her head in sad surprise, “I’m really disappointed.”

Without the crib, she said, her young son will do what he has done since birth.

“David will sleep with me for now, in the same bed. And it’s not even safe for the baby,” she added, saying there is just no way she can afford a crib on her own.

Hope Center executives say, since word of the theft started spreading, the community has rushed in with offers of support. There have been enough donations to cover the purchase of new cribs, but not enough yet to buy a new trailer. The trailer, which was also donated, had been used to deliver the cribs and baby seats, also given to those who earn them by taking parenting classes and who might not otherwise be able to afford them.

Woodstock Police continue their investigation into the theft. And Angela had a message for the thief:

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself,” she admonished, “and ask for forgiveness from God.”