300 Toys for Janitors’ Children Stolen From Santa Ana Office

Children of Orange County janitors may be in for a leaner Christmas this year because a grinch broke into an office and stole about 300 toys.

Santa Ana police Wednesday said they had no leads in the theft early Tuesday from the offices of Service Employees International Union Local 1877 on North Sycamore Street. The toys, of which about 150 remain, were to be passed out at a party Saturday to children of some of the 4,000 janitors represented by the union.

“We have nothing as far as witnesses or suspects,” said Officer Marty Burns of the Santa Ana Police Department.

Marisol Rivera, the union’s lead organizer, said the toys had been donated by civic groups and nonprofit organizations for the children of union members, whose incomes range from $16,000 to $18,000 a year.

“It’s kind of a big deal,” she said of the party, usually attended by about 1,500 children.

“This is the biggest event of the year,” Rivera said. “Christmas is hard for these families. It’s one of those times when they have to decide whether to have food on the table or buy toys for their kids.”

Though the annual toy drive had been lagging behind last year’s effort, Rivera said, union organizers had hoped to catch up before Saturday. Now they are holding emergency meetings with City Council members and other civic leaders to decide what to do.

“It’s very tough,” Rivera said. If a solution isn’t found soon, “we will have no choice but to explain to our members that somebody broke into our office and stole their kids’ toys.”