Burglars stole thousands of dollars worth of Christmas gifts from Army Cpl. Chris Petrossian's home while he was deployed to Afghanistan. But residents of the California town of Lodi stepped up to make sure the Petrossian family didn't go without on Christmas day.
The Lodi News-Sentinal reports Petrossian was planning to surprise his wife Cheryl, and daughters Carilyn, 4, and Adriana, 6, by arriving home early from Afghanistan. The surprise was spoiled, though, when Petrossian's wife called overseas to tell him their house had been burglarized, and all the Christmas presents he'd bought online for them were stolen. Chris Petrossian told the News-Sentinal:
“I told her not to worry about it. I’ll be home tomorrow. It made her feel better knowing I’d be home soon.”
The Petrossian family was in the process of trying to replace the estimated $5,000 worth of stolen presents when they found out residents of Lodi had already started collecting donations to help the military family in their time of need.
Even Lodi police and firefighters made a large donation to the family, according to Sacramento television station KCRA-TV.
Chris Petrossian spoke with KCRA about the burglary and subsequent generosity from the citizens of Lodi:
“Lodi is a great town. I have lived here a long time and absolute strangers, complete strangers have come together.
“The community has been really great, making it easier for us.”
