After their van was stolen earlier this week, Waipuna Hospice is mobile once more, thanks to the generosity of Farmer Autovillage.

Mike Farmer handed over the keys of a loan van to Allan Wallace from the hospice this morning, allowing the charity to get on with their big store move in Greerton.

Waipuna Hospice retail business manager James Turner says since the depot was ransacked and the van stolen, there's been an outpouring of support for the hospice.

'There's been some amazing generosity and concern out there in the community. One woman came in and gave us $3000 towards a new van yesterday.

'We also had one very sweet email from a concerned person who had donated some items last week and rung the police with a description of one of the items so they could keep an eye out to help us.”

The timing of the theft couldn't be worse, either, with the hospice currently shifting their Greerton store across the road to the old ANZ building.

'It was our principal van, used eight hours a day, five days a week.

'The demand from the community for our services increases every year. The most guaranteed source of income we have is through our retail stores.”

James presumes the van was stolen to help transport the goods from the depot that the thieves made off with.

He believes it will probably be found burnt out somewhere, as it's not an easy vehicle to rebrand and sell on.

Most people would find the idea of stealing from a charity abhorrent, but James says it happens more than you think.

'We get a lot of people who steal out of the shop as well. People also dump actual rubbish for us to dispose of, because they'd rather we spent the money we would spend on terminally sick people, getting rid of their rubbish.

'It's a real insult to people who donate goods, people who volunteer, the hard work of our staff and the welfare of our patients.”

So he's grateful to Farmer Autovillage for their long association with the hospice, and willingness to help out.

'Peter Farmer was a board member for many years. They've supported us before with purchasing vehicles. We had a flood out at the hospice a few years ago, and they were very forthcoming helping us out and getting replacement vehicles then.”