‘Hits us at a hard time:’ Free Hilton Head dental clinic’s donation box burglarized
This story was updated at 5:25 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2020.
Even those trying to do good can’t escape those determined to be bad.
Take the Volunteers in Medicine Hilton Head Island Dental Clinic on Palmetto Parkway, where retired dentists provide free care to those who can’t afford health insurance.
On Aug. 9, around 6 p.m., someone used a cinderblock to shatter the glass in the front door, stepped inside and stole the donations box.
The take?
Ten dollars.
The damage to the clinic?
$900 - “not inexpensive by any means,” said Lisa Beddie, the clinic’s coordinator..
The damage to the spirit?
Not something you can put a price on.
The crime is a setback for the clinic, according to Beddie, which has had to cut down on the number of patients it sees. That in turn has meant fewer donations for the privately-funded clinic.
“The reason that people come here: (these) are people who lost their jobs. Giving donations is not an easy thing,” said Beddie. “It kind of hits us at a hard time.”
The clinic offers an array of health services.
Before COVID-19, the clinic was seeing around 70 patients a day and had 6,000 patient visits annually, said Beddie.
The work the clinic does can mean far more than a brighter smile.
Beddie said the island’s hospitality industry workers, who often don’t have health insurance as part of their jobs, made use of the clinic’s denture procedures.
Those procedures could mean those workers can make more money.
“A new pair of dentures could make the difference between back of house and front of house,” Beddie said.
Crime during a pandemic
Deputies responded to an alarm call after 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 9 and discovered the “freshly committed event,” according to a report from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
A deputy “located a plexiglass donation box in the woods outside the business. The top was cracked open and the contents were emptied,” the report said.
The burglary is under investigation and is believed connected to other businesses broken into with a “similar method of forced entry,” said Maj. Bob Bromage.
For now, Beddie said the clinic is operating again, though not at full capacity.
“It’s disappointing for patients, too. Patients are a little shocked someone would vandalize a place for them that is critical care,” she said.
“It’s a vital place in our community, so it’s hard when anything like this happens.”
What makes it easier is how the community responds, the way it did in the aftermath of the break in.
On Friday, Beddie said in a text message to a reporter that private donors had paid to have the smashed door replaced.
“You’ll be glad to know the door was paid for within hours by both random people and volunteers,” said Beddie. “Made me cry knowing there are very good people in this world.”
Sometimes, the good wins out.
To donate to Volunteers in Medicine Hilton Head Island, you can visit their website.
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 4:45 AM.
