HOLLAND, Mich. — What seemed like an innocent fundraiser in Downtown Holland has turned out to be a scam. Young men selling candy have gotten the attention of business owners and even police.
Heather Ten Harmsel owns The Poppy Peach on 8th Street along Holland's main strip. Starting in December, she noticed something that didn't feel quite right.
"We had a couple of gentlemen in that were trying to sell $10 candy bars to business owners and customers," she said. "They came into our boutique, we said no, they left. But they've been in several times since."
Ten Harmsel said they tell people they're raising money for the Boys and Girls Club. Under her suspicion, she called the local club of Greater Holland and confirmed that is not true.
"We don't have our kids hit the pavement to raise money for the club like that," said Craig Spoelhof, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holland. "Whoever these people are, are using an easy mark just to fill their pockets."
The situation has even been brought to the attention of Holland Police. Captain Robert Buursma said in a statement:
"We have had 1 report that I'm aware of which was a person reporting 3 kids selling candy bars in the downtown area and claiming to be associated with the Boy's and Girl's club. We checked the area but were unable to locate the youths. We confirmed with Boy's and Girl's Club that they do not participate in fundraisers of this type. The best thing residents can do if asked to buy candy or other items for a 'fundraiser' is to ask lots of questions to see if it seems legitimate."
"I think if you know about the Club, you can ask questions like what unit they belong to, what staff member they really like, or even what they like most about being in the Club," said Spoelhof.
Spoelhof added that he hopes that whoever is running the scam will stop, but also offered any support that they might need.
"I'd ask them to come to the Club," he said. "We have programs that help kids figure out how to grow up and become great citizens in town, and that does not include scamming shoppers and senior citizens in Downtown Holland."
Ten Harmsel also took to Facebook to let her customers and the community know what was going on. The post got a lot of attention, but she said she did it because she just wanted to help.
"We don't want downtown Holland to be tarnished, and a lot of people are very giving here," said Ten Harmsel, "so, then not only are you starting to harass our employees, you're harassing our customers and we want them to have a good experience down here."
And above all, the situation has now become a community effort to make sure people's kindness isn't taken advantage of.
"It just kind of hurts your heart a little bit when somebody is taking advantage of your community," Ten Harmsel said.
To learn more about the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holland and how you can get involved click here.
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