DAVENPORT, Fla. (WFLA) — After brightening a Davenport stage with a fairytale, there was a rush of tears from a troupe of young actors, but now there is hope after several donations were made to the program.

Heidi Pellino, the founder of A Touch of Drama, said she was also in tears after what many thought could be the last performance of the program that works with children with special needs.

“I was balling,” Pellino said. “But seeing the kids cry? It made me realize it really is important to them.”

Pellino raised the curtains for the first time about a year ago to give her child with special needs a chance on stage. Word spread, and now about half the cast has a range of behavioral and medical issues.

This type of program is so rare some travel nearly an hour to participate, according to Pellino.

“We had a few say that they were bullied,” Pellino. “This is the first place that they feel they belonged. First place they actually made friends.”

Pellino claims a case of alleged fraud put the theatre on life support.

Records Pellino provided indicate about $6,000 was taken out of her business account with online-based Bluevine from a New York location. Pellino insists she did not withdraw the money and was in Florida at the time of the transactions.

Bluevine spokesperson Kelsey Miller said she is limited on what she can discuss about Pellino’s case.

“That said, our team has investigated the situation thoroughly and found no indication of fraudulent activity,” Miller said.

Pellino questions how secure her account was, but Miller emphasized Bluevine takes account security very seriously.

“And we routinely communicate with all of our customers about what it means to maintain a secure account,” Miller said.

Pellino had all but given up until donations started coming in from parents, audience members and 8 On Your Side viewers after a report aired on Friday.

“We received two $500 donations just from people from the news that I know of,” Pellino said. “We don’t know about the rest but [the story] helped. Parents, people in the audience were also generous.”

There were also other offers, including one from a viewer who wrote in an email to 8 On Your Side that her eighth grade son “would like to use some of his savings to help.” 

“That’s incredible,” Pellino said about the offer. “That’s a very good kid with a very good upbringing and a great heart.”

Pellino said the efforts have not raised enough to replace what was taken, but now there is “hope” for a happy ending.

“I know my students would help if I asked,” Pellino said. “And if we can up with some ideas and some fundraisers. That’s definitely what we’re working on.”

According to Pellino, student fees do not cover all the program expenses that include venue and equipment rental fees, script royalties and insurance costs.

Pellino said if the theatre reaches its current goal, the program will be able to finish its season. She said the next focus would be raising funds for the fall. But at this point, the Touch of Drama summer camp is cancelled.

“I do have hope,” Pellino said. “I think we can do it.”