Police are looking for two men after a collection jar was stolen from a teen golfer in downtown Victoria last week.

Cindy Koira and her dad were outside the Market On Yates on Dec. 30 selling hot chocolate and samosas to raise money for the girl’s golf dreams.

The young athlete in grade nine plans to head to Scotland this year for a major tournament.

“I’ve been working since the summer to fundraise and there was a lot of money in the jar too,” Koira said.

Just after 3 p.m. the 14-year-old went to warm up and her father stayed behind to mind the table.

That’s when a man dressed in black approached the stand.

“They came and took the bottle and ran, my dad tried to chase them and fell twice,” Koira said.

Two men made off with $160, she says.

Police were called to the scene, but couldn’t find the thieves.

An attending officer told the teen to wait a few minutes and returned with $160 of his own money to help the girl move forward with her plans.

“He told me to play well,” Koira recalled. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact VicPD at (250) 995-7654 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

With a report from CTV Vancouver Island's Chandler Grieve