The spirit of generousity is alive and well in the Lower Mainland, despite the shadow of recession.

It took several robberies at the Salvation Army and Surrey Food Bank and the two charities are reaping the benefits.

While Vancouver radio stations joined together in a one-day drive to fill up the coffers of the Salvation Army with toys and other items for teenagers, some of the items stolen last week were returned by Vancouver Police on Tuesday.

I heard about the Salvation Army loss, youth is what we specialize in longboarding young people, so we figured we might as well step in," said Blake Startup.

Another man, Jason Bannister, donated several DVD players and movies.

"That teenage thing struck a chord," he said.

Jim Johnston, the GM at Vancouver radio station Corus, said they were only too happy to help along with the other radio stations that took part.

"We are all competitors, but in this case we have thrown that down to come together to work as a mass to make a difference."

A preliminary tally on Tuesday afternoon showed donations at the radio stations had reached $20,000. By Tuesday evening that amount had been raised to $60,000 and 70 boxes of toys.

Meanwhile in Surrey, news that the local food bank had suffered five break-ins in six days led to a flood of donations.

Food bank manager Marilyn Herrmann said that along with foodstuffs, the City of Surrey had donated $12,000 and flat screen monitors, to replace stolen computers.

But other charities, those not in the news in recent days for the wrong reasons, could still use donations before Christmas.

Cheryl Prepchuk of the Vancouver Food Bank said they were experiencing less generosity from the public than in the past.

"[Donations] are definitely down -- a 20 to 25 per cent decrease in donations, but it's early. I think people are cautious," she said.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lisa Rossington