When Tim Burgess left Thursday from his morning shift as a coach at the CrossFit in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, he never could have imagined he would return home to find burglars running from his house.
Burgess had just picked up his son and as the pair arrived at their home, they found thieves fleeing their home. Inside, their Christmas presents were gone and several other valuable belongings were taken.
“Our tree was tossed on top of our couch back behind me,” Burgess told NBC 5. “All the presents were opened up, all of our drawers in the kitchen were opened up, and they had pretty much ransacked the top floor.”
Burgess posted what happened on Facebook as a warning to others—and that’s when kindness kicked in.
His colleagues and even strangers from the gym came together. By 6 a.m. the next day, the group had raised more than $4,000 for the family—including a Christmas card and a list of all the people who wished them well.
“It was pretty overwhelming when I opened it up and I realized how many people actually made this happen,” Burgess said.
Drew Sutherland helped organize the effort.
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“I just decided, maybe I could chip in a little bit, you know, help with some of the presents or fix up the door and the windows and stuff like that,” Sutherland said. “So I reached out to a couple of my friends and then it just kind of spiraled.”
Now the Burgess family says they are filled with gratitude.
“What has been communicated to him through the generosity of each and every individual as a member of the CrossFit community is just absolutely amazing,” Jennifer Burgess, Tim’s wife, said Friday.
Jennifer and Tim’s 7-year-old son, Evan, also voiced how appreciative he was of the act of kindness.
“I feel a lot better, I think we’re past it by now,” he said.
Chicago Police said no one was in custody in relation to the crime as of Friday night.
