Dozens of tiny red, white and yellow paper hot-air balloons fluttered near the ceiling in the breeze from an air conditioner, as they struggled to lift off as if they were real.However, tiny bits of scotch tape kept them grounded.
They seemed to know that what they were meant to symbolize had been challenged.
Below them, three police officers chatted with the manager of the tiny, dilapidated Circle K convenience store at the intersection of Lovell Street and Oakland Drive in Kalamazoo. Terry Clawson, 48, had only been the manager there since just after the new year.
“Where I came from, in Plainwell, something like this would never happen,” Clawson said, a combined look of amazement and disgust on her face.
Those flimsy balloons were donation markers for the Children’s Miracle Network, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to raising funds for children’s hospitals. According to their website, there are 170 Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. They provide medical care, research, and preventative education to help millions of children around the United States.
They raise money through fund raisers at places like Circle K. Customers can purchase a balloon for a dollar, and write their name proudly on the front to be displayed, or offer up the change from their purchases to a designated basket that sat on the counter.
“That guy just took off with it,” Clawson said. “He was hanging around the store, harassing customers. I told him I was calling the cops, and that’s when he grabbed it. There was probably only 13 bucks in there.”
That same man, described to be a black man in his late twenties or early thirties, had been in the store already once that day, Clawson explained. He came in early in the morning on Monday, April 13, with beer bottles, wanting to exchange them for the deposit, but got angry with Clawson when she wouldn’t take some of the returns.
The store’s policy is to only take back the brands they sell, and about half of the man’s returns were not brands sold at that store.
The man argued with her, but eventually took his deposit money, and Clawson didn’t expect to see him again that day.
A little after noon, the man returned with a little charity of his own.
“He asked if ‘that real nice broad’ that helped him out this morning was still around,” Tim Cole, the clerk who was working at the time, said.
The man had brought her a bag with something to eat inside, but when Clawson refused to take it he became irate.
“He was cussing, and making a fool of himself,” Clawson said. “Seriously, the words coming out of his mouth were embarrassing.”
Cole and Clawson ordered the man to leave the store, but were not having any luck, so they decided to call 911. As Clawson pressed the numbers, the man grabbed the metal basket with the donation money from the counter and bolted out the door.
Melvin Schmidt, a friend of the store’s regional manager, was in the back working on the floor. He saw the man take off on foot, and chased after him. Schmidt jumped on his ten-speed bike, and hurried to catch the man before he got too far.
“I finally caught up to him by the cemetery,” Schmidt said, as he puffed on a cigarette, his face still red and blotchy from the chase.
Mountain Home Cemetery, is about a mile from the store on West Main Street, and almost all up hill, just passed Kalamazoo College. By the time Schmidt got there the police were blocking the man’s way. They apprehended him, but he didn’t have any of the money on him.
“I’ve been picking up loose change that dropped all over the place,” Schmidt said.
That change was supposed to be headed to the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. The donations go through the Children’s Miracle Network, and immediately to the Grand Rapids hospital.
The Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital cares for children throughout Michigan, and boasts one of the largest neonatal departments in the nation.
The day before, the assistant manager, Ryan Stenthem, had defended the stores decision to keep the basket displayed on the counter.
“When I asked a girl if she would like to donate her change, she commented on how surprised she was that no one had stolen it,” he said. “I told her that our customers were better than that. I guess I was wrong.”
The Circle K stores participate in two fund raisers a year. They sponsor the March of Dimes during the month of October, and the Children’s Miracle Network during April.
“We really get into it,” Clawson said. “We have a contest to see who of the employees can collect the most.”
Right now, the Lovell Street store is placed fifth out of the eight regional Circle K stores.
“But we’ve only been at it for three days,” she said. “I’m looking for our numbers to go up during this week. We’ve got really generous customers.”
And that is the truth.
Cole mentioned that just after the incident, he had already raised back most of the money.
“The customers were really angry that someone would do something so ridiculous,” he said. “That is their money.”
“One of the police officers told me how upset he was,” Clawson said. “He’d said that was people’s hard-earned cash, and there isn’t much of it to part with nowadays.”
The store will press charges against the man, Clawson said. Also, he is never allowed back into the store again.
Customers still continue to show their support. Just before Clawson left for the day, an older woman entered the store.
“I found this up the hill,” the unknown woman said, as she handed Clawson the empty basket with the sign that reads, “Please donate your change to the Children’s Hospital” still
taped on the front. “I heard that you lost it.”
Clawson placed the basket back in its rightful place on the counter under the paper balloons.
The clerks will continue to ask for change, but will keep a closer eye on the collection basket, and periodically remove some of the cash, and deposit it into their drawers.
“I’m hoping that was the one bad apple,” Clawson said.
