A GoFundMe has been launched to help recoup losses after a trailer and around $20,000 worth of audio and video gear used for Eastside community events was stolen from a community advocate this week in El Sereno.
In a social media post on Monday, Genny Guerrero, an El Sereno resident, called on the community to help find her hot pink trailer which she said was unhitched from her vehicle and stolen from outside her home. Guerrero, 42, is a longtime activist and volunteer in the neighborhood and unsuccessfully ran for L.A.’s Council District 14 seat during the primary election.
“Any sightings? You guys know I use it for all the community events, food distributions and more. Yes, I had equipment in it,” she wrote in the post.
Among the stolen items were sound equipment, a projector, extension cords, and a DJ mixer according to the GoFundMe page. The gear, used for community events like toy giveaways and food distribution around neighborhoods like El Sereno, Boyle Heights and Skid Row, was amassed and purchased by Guerrero over 30 years, she said in an interview with the Beat.
“Every little thing I purchased very painstakingly with my own money. This is my personal equipment,” Guerrero said. “I would use it at Hollenbeck when we would do movie nights, or movie nights over here at El Sereno Park.”
The stolen equipment is often used in collaboration with Comité Navideño, an El Sereno nonprofit that organizes community events and the volunteer-run El Sereno Bicentennial Committee, according to Guerrero.
The trailer was valued at around $6,000 according to Guerrero, who said she filed a police report. Guerrero said the trailer and its contents were not insured. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, no information about the theft investigation was available at this time.
Many of the stolen items, including a Santa suit, were most recently used during a December toy drive in which Guerrero, her family and a dedicated group of volunteers were able to distribute more than 3,500 toys to local children in need, she said.
Guerrero said she also used the trailer to distribute food to people on Skid Row, something she said is now on hold.
“We have plenty of food at this distribution,” she said, pointing to the pallets of produce and beverages at a recent food giveaway in El Sereno. “I would love to share these items with them but I cannot get it over to them in this condition.”
Felix Hernandez, a friend of Guerrero, explains on the GoFundMe page that the theft was more than a loss of property but a brutal blow to “community spirit and hope.”
“This theft affects not just Genny, but every volunteer, every child, and every family who benefits from her generosity and dedication. We are appealing to your kindness and generosity to help us rebuild. Any contribution, no matter how small, will be a significant step towards restoring the magic that Genny brings to our community,” Hernandez wrote on the GoFundMe page.