Between a Rock and A Hard Place: Baltimore Woman Accused of Raising Money for Cancer Victim and Then Keeping It

Donna Rock is accused of one of the lowest possible crimes: raising money for a 5-year-old girl with cancer and then keeping the money for herself. This week, Rock was arrested and charged with theft of the money raised for Serena Lambert.

Serena has been battling cancer for 18 months and it will cost more than $1 million. The family is expected to pay 10 percent of that cost — over $100,000. She has stage four neuroblastoma.

Rock arranged to have friends of the Lambert’s go door to door to raise the money in buckets.

They believe that Rock received more than $2,000 raised in Serena’s name.

Rock was arrested while she was working at the Towson Quizno’s.

In the most understated response, her father Jeff Whitt noted “Having a child with cancer is a full-time job. You don’t need distractions like this.”

For the full story, click here.

17 thoughts on “Between a Rock and A Hard Place: Baltimore Woman Accused of Raising Money for Cancer Victim and Then Keeping It”

  1. Canadian Eh:

    I usually dont give to the homeless either, but that guy tickled my funny bone with is customer comment. Hopefully he bought food with it.

    I typically give to 2 charities and at church. So you are right about what you say. I also was willing to give a job to someone that had a sign “will work for food”. He looked at me like I was the devil.

  2. I saw guy from the interstate off-ramp buying a 40 at Exxon so that kind of did it for me.

  3. Byron

    I think that guy was lowballing you.

    I met a guy in downtown Nashville who was playing a guitar-so I gave him five. He told me he averaged about $50 a day minus strings and batteries for his amp. Of course he performs so that could account for the discrepency.

  4. Byron:
    I have clients who have told me that, during the peak tourist season in the summer months, they are able to pocket about $80 a day. I live in a moderate sized ( about 120,000 pop ) in south eastern Ontario. We are a tourist haven!!! While I do look the other way ( this money is always under the table )it does make me think twice about throwing a loonie into their hats. If this money was actually being used for food/shelter I would certainly contribute. More often than not I am meeting with these same clients for addictions counseling, and guess where they get the money to afford the addictions.
    With all that being said, I still donate to charity. I have however, chosen 2 causes very close to my own heart that I contribute to annually. Charities, I will add, that I have ensured put donations to where they are intended.

  5. Canadian Eh:

    I always wondered how much they were able to pocket.

    I was down in DC about a year ago and met a homeless guy plying his trade, I stopped and we started chatting and I asked him how much he made in a week and he said about $100 bucks. I told him I was thinking about doing it and he told me I could clean up seeing as how I use a wheelchair. I asked him why he didn’t go to Goodwill and buy one, he responded that it would not be honest to his customers. I gave him a twenty and left a little more certain of the decency of most people.

  6. I learned long ago to never give to a ” charity ” unless it is a reputable one which will give receipts for donations. I stopped giving my spare change to homeless ” looking ” people on the streets when I started to work with many who not only have homes but pocket more per week in change than I do in salary. That is over and above what our provincial government gives people on their monthly disability cheques. Often this income is used not for food & shelter but to support unhealthy habits ( drugs & alcohol ). It is a terrible truth, some people do whatever they need to do to get money. Yes, it does make me a little sad that I know the stark truth, and that it has jaded me in some ways….sometimes ignorance truly is bliss!!

  7. I’m getting a warning from my anti-virus program that the URL in the article leads to what they call an “attack site.”

  8. Off Topic But of Significant Interest, to me at least

    Ten Americans Charged With Child Trafficking in Haiti; PM Calls It ‘Kidnapping’
    Group Spokesperson: ‘We Were Just Trying to Do the Right Thing’

    Ten Americans have been formally charged by Haitian authorities for what the prime minister called the “kidnapping” of Haitian children, the official told ABC News today.

    http://abcnews.go.com/WN/HaitiEarthquake/ten-americans-haiti-charged-child-trafficking-pm-calls/story?id=9712436

  9. Leaving JFK airport a few weeks ago,A lady was at a stop light handing out photos of a child with a similar situation,as she passed by the cars she would hand out the picture with story of the childe illness.

    After you read the card she then came back with her handout,no donation she asked for the card back,she had it down to a science by the time the light changed she had got her money or the card back.

    For those who are familiar with that area,we were on the service road,that is how we ran into the lights.

  10. If this woman took this money, she deserves everything the system can give her. I just can’t imagine stealing from a child with cancer. It doesn’t get much lower than that. Unfortunately, we see too many fake illness charity cases and now we see a real illness with a fake human being.

  11. It is sad if this happened.

    The main story is sketchy in details. What proof do they have that she took the money, if so, how much did she raise? What did she do with the money? Not much in details except, said she raise money, arrested, bailed out, no comment. How do they know it was 2,000.00?

    I could pin more on O’Keefe based upon the facts of the story than presume this person is guilty.

  12. For the full story, click here.

    I got a “might harm computer” warning when I clicked on that link.

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