When Beth Keller woke up on Tuesday morning, she found something troubling. Or rather, she found nothing...which was troubling.
Keller awoke to find her family home had been broken into, along with six other houses in the neighborhood. While Beth, her son Josh (22), her son Jake (4), and her disabled mother slept, their privacy was completely violated.
The Edgewater Police Department in Florida confirm that six unlocked vehicles in the neighborhood were burglarized, with some of them being stolen all together.
For Beth and her family, their Jeep was completely gone. The thieves took the screen off one of the windows in the home and pried the window open, crawling inside.
Keller, a nurse in Florida, says it wasn't just the car that was taken, either.
"Stole my purse, my wallet, my credit cards. My son's wallet. Even stole my 4-year-old's piggy bank with all his change and stuff in it. Stole my car keys right off the kitchen counter and walked out the sliding glass door and got into my vehicle like they owned the place," Keller told local news.
Keller, a nurse in Edgewater, says it's not the material things she's most upset about, it's the lack of security she feels in her own home.
"I'm scared to leave my family here and not be able to protect them. I'm scared to go to bed. I mean they have my house keys. I can't even secure my house. I'll be changing the locks," Keller said. "To come into my home where my family is asleep and steal what little we have, including [Jake's] piggy bank, how low do you have to be of a person?"
The story circulated around town, and when complete strangers heard about Jake's piggy bank disappearing, they decided to step up in a big way.
Continue reading to find out how a community is rallying together to help the Keller family.
On Thursday morning after the invasion, the family was shown something truly remarkable.
Complete strangers had started a GoFundMe page to help the Kellers get back on their feet.
"Beth Keller has selflessly cared for so many critically ill patients in the Daytona Beach and surrounding areas for many years. Chances are that you or someone you know is here today because of her. Please help this single mother and nurse! Any donations greatly appreciated!"
Within hours, someone had anonymously donated $1000 to the Keller family.
"I'm so humbled by the communities response. I am truly touched. I just cannot believe so many people have jumped to help us like this," Beth Keller told Shared. "Another friend posted on Facebook that she is buying 10 piggy banks and asking local businesses to place them in their stores so that people can fill them with change, to show my 4 year old that "there really is good in the world".
As for Jake, he's more concerned about the manners the burglars displayed. When asked about his piggy bank being taken, he replied "That was rude!"
Jake also was treated like a king by Edgewater police.
"Edgewater police let my 4 year old sit in the police car and run the lights and siren," Beth told Shared. "He told officers. 'I want to be a police officer when I'm 5!'""
If you would like to donate to help the Keller family, you can do so here.