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SALT LAKE CITY — With a little humor and perspective, a local non-profit is turning the theft of a valuable auto part from three of their vehicles into a "unique opportunity".
Over the weekend, Splore — a non-profit group that helps individuals with disabilities access outdoor adventures — had three catalytic converters stolen from their vehicles. The converters keep toxic chemicals from cars' exhaust out of the air and are valuable scrap metal targets for thieves. The parts are expected to cost about $3,400 to replace.
The converters are underneath cars, so when Splore Program Manager Eric Bonin got in the program's truck, he didn't notice anything was wrong until the engine started up. It sounded like a "big diesel truck," he said, so he took a peek. Sure enough, the converter was cut cleanly from underneath the truck.
Next to the truck, Splore's shuttle bus had the same problem. Both its catalytic converters were missing.
Because of these cut catalytic converters, Splore says they've already had to cancel a couple of trips.
Instead of being angry at what happened, Splore Executive Director Janine Donald said they will just do what needs to be done to continue helping people.
"No, I'm not mad; it's inconvenient," Donald said. "It's not ideal. But, no, I'm not upset."
So rather than get upset, she wrote a humorous letter to the thief to raise awareness of the theft.
"Dear catalytic converter enthusiast," it begins.
She goes to credit the thief with "giving them a unique opportunity" and say that the group will overcome the challenge.
She said all she has to do is look at the smiles on the people her group helps and there's no way a missing piece of metal is going to get her down.
"When you put it in perspective, it's like, this really isn't that awful of a thing," Donald said.
