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Samaritan steps in after Grinch steals from Portland Boy Scouts

The thief essentially shut down the troop's biggest fundraiser.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Christmas Tree Lot run by Boy Scouts is back in business after a Grinch broke into a shed, stole $2,000 worth of their stuff.

“Stole the generator, saw, sound system, and the tablet for credit cards,” said Troop 351 Scoutmaster Mike Benson.

The thief essentially shut down the troop's biggest fundraiser.

“How do you tell the kids?” Benson said. “This is how we fund the program for the whole year. Our kids don't pay for camp, they earn their way to camp.”

But luckily Ron Friedrich, owner of A-Temp Heating and Cooling, saw the story.

“I looked at my wife and said, 'This is just wrong,'” Friedrich said. He brought the scouts the equipment they need, a gift card, and a check for a thousand dollars.

“I was choked up," Benson said. "It’s hard not to be. It's amazing people would steal from kids.”

Now the lot is back up and running. A lot of people are showing up to pick up a tree or to make a donation. Even former Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts stopped by.

The kids say they learned something.

“It was a really sad thing, but it kind of turned into a positive thing,” said Boy Scout Alex Benson.

One person can almost ruin Christmas, but in this case the community came together for a happy ending.

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