A donation box for the Child Cancer Foundation was stolen in a brash robbery at a Havelock North petrol station on Monday night.
The alleged thief concealed the box under a jersey he was carrying.
The manager of Mobil Havelock North, who didn't want to be named, said he and his staff were "understandably upset" about the theft.
"Quite honestly it's a bloody terrible thing," he said.
His daughter took to social media to try to track down the thief.