The Rivercity Players Society is thanking a local business for a generous and unexpected donation.
The community theatre group had its table saw stolen back in May.
Over the weekend, the Home Depot donated a new saw to the non-profit group.
Rivercity Players president Bev Sievwright is over the moon by the donation.
“It was a shock, and a very nice one,” she said.
Sievwright said when the saw was lifted, it was a big loss for the volunteer-driven society.
“We were building sets for our play, Shirley Valentine, and the guys leave the saw outside… and they were inside working and came out and the saw was gone,” Sievwright said.
“It would have taken two guys to load it up in a truck and take it away and within 10 minutes (it was stolen).”
The saw cost about $700 and the society’s insurance is $500 deductible so the group decided to buy a new one.
The society’s fortunes turned around when Sievwright went to the Home Depot to set up an account for its set builders and to purchase a new table saw.
That’s when she told the story to a Home Depot employee.
“I just happened to mention that ours was stolen and the girl came back and said that she was going to give us one,”Sievwright said. “We couldn’t claim it on insurance. It really blew me away. This town is really good for donations and stuff and it was really, really appreciated.”
The society will be celebrating its 60th anniversary next year, and operates out of The Rivercity Stage, an 80-seat venue at 1080 Hemlock Street.
Sievwright said they rely on their show revenue to remain operational, so the donation was a huge plus.
“Any extra money we need, we go out fundraising and so on,” Sievwright said. “This was a real (bonus) because we’re building sets for another play right now and we didn’t have a table saw, so it’s quite an impact.”
The new saw will be put into use this week.
