SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With thousands of children visiting their pumpkin patch and corn maze each fall, Sunnyside Gardens owner Ned Chapman says the season is always the most welcome time of year at the Saratoga nursery.

“This part of our business is our relief," Chapman said Monday morning. "The employees really enjoy this time of the year; it is a totally different business, totally different customers.”

Saturday afternoon, on the other hand, delivered an autumn dose of disappointment.

“I think we were more disappointed than anything, because who would do that?" said Chapman, who started the business with his wife in 1982.

About midway through the busy day, Chapman's manager noticed the donation box left in front of the popular "Pumpkin Carving Hall of Flame" had vanished.

"Nobody had touched it. We checked with all of the employees and nobody had touched it; it was just gone,” he said.

All of the money inside was meant for the Saratoga Center for the Family, a non-profit that helps children who fall victim to abuse.

"If they actually saw the kids they were taking the money from, they would never do it,” said Chapman, who has been donating to the charity for about 20 years.

Because the box is emptied each day, it's unclear how much was stolen, but Chapman says his customers typically donate between $2,000 and $3,000 over the course of the season, which his family then matches.

“It’s the children,” Chapman said. “These are the youngest victims and they have a tough go of it. Anything we can do to help them."

The new donation box is now bolted to the table to prevent another theft.

"We don’t have security cameras and we’ve never had the need for it. I mean, you are dealing with pumpkins,” joked Chapman.

Chapman is hopeful the money will be returned. Since his customers learned of the news on Saturday, he says they've gone above and beyond to fill the void.

“If you let people know what is really going on, they will open their hearts and their wallets to help. That’s the key,” he said.