BRUNSWICK — Money intended for several charities was stolen from the Brunswick Elks Lodge over Halloween weekend.

At some point after 10 p.m. the night of Oct. 30 or before 8 a.m. the morning of Oct. 31, one or more intruders broke into the lodge at 179 Park Row, according to police.

Police arrived just before 9 a.m. on Oct. 31, after being contacted by Elks employees. Officers found a door had been forced open, Patrol Cmdr. Marc Hagan said Monday, and money had been stolen from behind the bar.

He would not disclose the amount stolen, because the investigation remains open. But, he added, some of the money taken had been designated for charity.

Lodge member David Daigle said Monday that the money stolen had been earmarked for three programs.

Some of it had been designated for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program, he said, which raises money for cancer research.

Other money had been set aside for the Togus VA hospital in Augusta.

Finally, he said, a bucket of donations for gifts at an Elks-sponsored children’s Christmas party had been taken.

Daigle characterized the amount of money taken as “certainly … enough of a donation, in all three instances, that it paid for a good amount of what we need, or expect to provide, for those various programs.”

He said the lodge has already put out replacement buckets to collect donations again, and have “already seen some money coming back in.”

Hagan said Monday that the burglary is still being actively investigated. He said anyone with information should  contact Detective William Moir of the Brunswick Police Department at 725-5521.

Walter Wuthmann can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 100 or wwuthmann@theforecaster.net. Follow Walter on Twitter: @wwuthmann.

The Brunswick Elks Lodge at 179 Park Row was burglarized in the late-night or early morning hours of Oct. 30 or 31.