Fundraiser launched after Kilmarnock Station Gaming Café break in
The founders of Station Gaming will raise funds to provide counselling and mental health services at the station.
Last updated 12th Jul 2023
A fundraiser has been launched after a Gaming Café and Hobby Shop in Kilmarnock Train Station was broken into and vandalised.
Station Gamers is one of the many shops in the East Ayrshire train station that is part of a wider community group run by volunteers.
They are a non-profit store that raises money for the Kilmarnock Station Railway Heritage Trust who use the funds to provide counselling and mental health services.
Earlier this week, staff came to open up the shop only to discover the front door had been smashed in and inside had been vandalised with a number of valuable items stolen as well.
Founders of Station Gamers Khollen & Debbie MacGillivary said that they’ve witnessed break-ins in the past while working in retail but two years into running the store by themselves, this incident has left them feeling disheartened.
However, the couple are telling Greatest Hits Radio that they’re determined to turn this negative experience into a positive outcome.
Instead of fundraising to replace any of the items stolen, they are raising cash that will go towards the Kilmarnock Station Counselling Village.
Khollen said: “An incident like this has never stung so much for me personally. A lot of the guys see this place as a second home. It’s a place they come to feel safe, and I take that role very seriously.
“The feeling very much went from being angry and confused, thinking how could this happen. But it quickly turned into ‘how do we fix this and make this better’ to make everyone feel safe and happy.
“We’ve had a great response, and everyone has rallied round us very quickly.”
Debbie added: “A lot of our jobs really focus on supporting our local community, and when this happened it was a huge negative.
“But the community has just turned around and supported us in every way they can, whether that’s been donations, kind messages, or an offer of practical help and that’s been mindblowing.”
Debbie & Khollen say they will be taking in donations and figuring out how many sessions of counselling it will pay for, and will then let the public know the difference they have made after the store was broken into.
If you want to donate to the fundraiser, you can find their page here.
Greatest Hits Radio has contacted British Transport Police for an official statement on the incident.