Costa Mesa girls’ basketball program receives donations in response to recent theft

Christmas has come and gone, but Costa Mesa High girls’ basketball coach Lauren Coleman continues to see the generosity of the community.

Donations have been coming in for the Mustangs program shortly after a theft of $1,100 and fundraising candy was reported in the Daily Pilot on Dec. 31.

Coleman and her girls were thrilled to discover that $1,100 from an anonymous donor came along with other donations.

The Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club donated $500. A former Costa Mesa athlete donated $300, Athletic Director Sharon Uhl said, and another $100 came from an anonymous donor, as well as $100 from a former teacher at Davis Elementary.

Signature Awards, the trophy shop in Newport Beach, donated $50 to help the Costa Mesa girls, and former Mustangs football coach Jeremy Osso and his family donated $25.

“I was excited and happy,” Coleman said when she found out about the donations. “I was happy that the community had a response to the article. I’m glad that the community wanted to help out.”

The theft was believed to have occurred less than a week before Christmas, and was among a series of burglaries at Costa Mesa High and other schools in the area during the winter break.

The specific items that were stolen were not reported by the Costa Mesa Police Dept.