Northern Minnesota Police Officer Starts GoFundMe For Iron Range Student Whose Grad Cards Were Stolen

A Northland police officer is stepping in to try to fix an awful happening at an Iron Range student's graduation party a few days ago.

During the graduation celebration for a Mesabi East graduate at the Super 8 in Eveleth over the weekend, some jerk decided to steal the graduation cards for the student. Many of those cards, of course, included gifts of cash for the graduate.

Mark Chad, an officer with the Eveleth Police Department, received a call about the theft after it happened and was angered by the occurrence and moved to take action above and beyond the call of duty.

Chad, who is a 17-year veteran of the Eveleth Police Department, said he was downright angry about the news that someone would steal a high school graduate's cards. He explained that the security cameras in the area where the party was being held weren't functioning during the party, leaving the department with no leads as to who stole the cards.

Get our free mobile app

The discovery of the theft was made at the end of the grad party, when Alek (the student) and her mom went to grab the graduation cards to open them. They anticipated over 30 cards from guests to the party, but they were all missing.

Officer Chad decided to do what he could to help Alek and her mother, starting a GoFundMe to raise some money for the graduate and try to turn this negative situation into a positive one.

In the GoFundMe post, the officer explained that Alek will be going into the U.S. Army this summer, following her graduation from Mesabi East as a member of the Class of 2023. Officer Chad said in the post "Let me put this in straight terms. Someone stole an 18-year-old's graduation cards. Someone stole a member of the U.S. Military's graduation cards. This is among the peak of despicable acts that I've seen from humanity during my career."

In the post, Officer Chad continued by saying "What I'm hoping for from this fundraiser is to harness the power of kindness in humanity to help make this young adult's graduation a momentous occasion she deserves and not a tragedy."

The officer's post has received a positive reaction, with 84 people making donations totaling $2,905 at the time of this article being written. The goal for the fundraiser was set at $5,000.

If you'd like to see the post or make a donation of your own, you can see the GoFundMe post here.

Congratulations to Alek on your graduation and good luck as you head off to serve in the Army later this year. Also, thanks to all of those that have made a donation so far, trying to turn this negative situation into a positive, proving there are good people out there too!