Rally around the family

Losing a young child to cancer is hard enough, but throw in the financial stress of funeral expenses, and it can be overwhelming.

That’s when the best of a community can step in, and in Glendale, it often does. When the El Mexicano Meat Market set up a donation jar for the family of Eduardo Morales-Peña, it was an example of neighbor helping neighbor.

Unfortunately, neighbor can also hurt neighbor, as was the case this past Sunday when someone stole the jar and the $300 that customers had donated. The alleged thief, Arthur Madoyan, was arrested a couple of days later, but he reportedly told police that the money had already been spent.

But what could have been a tragic event for Eduardo’s family has, because of this community once again, turned into a bright spot. The arresting Glendale police officer started soliciting donations, and support from throughout the city started to come in.

A spokesman for the Police Department on Friday said they had already amassed enough donations to cover the roughly $1,800 cost of the funeral. But it won’t stop there.

Eduardo’s sister recently found herself out of work while the restaurant she worked at undergoes renovations. The mother is also out of work, according to police.

And so the community should continue to rally behind this family, which has clearly been through the wringer.

Any contributions that go beyond the cost of the funeral will be donated to the family through a charitable trust. Checks made out to the Glendale Police Foundation may be mailed to the department at 131 N. Isabel St., Glendale, CA 91206; Attention: Sgt. Tom Lorenz.