When a crate of tools disappeared from Jan Menapace’s Granada Hills driveway, it threatened to interrupt repairs already under way. Three workers with Neverless Construction were inside patching a kitchen leak and repairing water damage after Southern California storms. Menapace later told the Los Angeles Times that the loss left her heartbroken for the crew. That afternoon, the workers borrowed equipment from friends, continued the job until 7:30 p.m., then shared pizza and a group hug in the driveway. Four days later, Menapace opened a fundraiser to help replace the equipment.
The theft happened Oct. 22 while the crew was working inside Menapace’s home. She had hired Neverless Construction to address the leak and damage in her kitchen. The Los Angeles Times reported that the stolen equipment was worth thousands of dollars and included a nail gun and eight batteries. Menapace’s fundraiser also lists a blower among the missing items. For a small crew, replacing a collection of work tools is a practical need, and their loss interrupted a repair job already under way.
Menapace noticed the workers looking for something after one of them went to retrieve a tool. The crew members are deaf and were communicating with one another in sign. She asked what had happened, and Neverless owner Michael Litberg explained that the equipment had disappeared. Menapace checked her home’s Ring camera and found footage of the theft. She shared the video with the Times, but the story of what followed centered on how the workers and homeowner responded together.
The crew had already been trying to patch the leak in rainy conditions, using umbrellas as they worked, Menapace told the Times. After the tools were gone, Litberg began calling friends to borrow equipment. The crew returned to the repair rather than ending the day early. Menapace said the workers continued until 7:30 p.m. The report does not say the original tools were recovered. Four days after the theft, Menapace opened a fundraiser to help replace the equipment, while borrowed tools had allowed the crew to keep the work moving that evening.
When the workday ended, Menapace ordered pizza for the three workers. They ate in the driveway and hugged. Litberg used sign to encourage his crew, telling them to stay positive and keep going, according to the Times. Crew member Bert Horvath later described feeling low after the theft, but said that seeing people respond with support helped him feel motivated again. Their brief meal was a small pause after a hard day, and a moment of connection captured on Menapace’s camera.
Menapace’s connection with Litberg predated the repair job. She told the Times that she was at her home with him in April when he received a call saying he was being let go from a roofing sales position. Not long afterward, Litberg started Neverless Construction and came to Menapace’s home to help with roofing problems. She said his positive attitude helped keep everyone calm when the tools disappeared.
Menapace launched the GoFundMe campaign on Oct. 26, asking for help to replace the crew’s equipment. The Times reported that its original goal was $5,000. The fundraiser’s own history shows the target rose in steps the next day, reaching $30,000. When checked at 05:28 UTC on Oct. 29, the page listed $23,789 from 216 donors toward that revised goal. The amount is a dated snapshot, not a final total, and the page’s purpose is to help the team replace the tools rather than a confirmation that replacements have already been bought.
The timeline matters: the equipment was stolen on Oct. 22, Menapace opened the fundraiser on Oct. 26, and the Times published its report on Oct. 27. The fundraiser gives the homeowner’s first-person account and explains what the donations are meant to support; the Times adds interviews with Menapace, Litberg and Horvath. Together, they document the theft and the response without showing that the crew has completed a replacement purchase or finished the repair.
Menapace’s documented response included sharing her camera footage with the Times, launching a fundraiser, and ordering pizza for the workers after the long day. The crew’s documented response included calling friends for borrowed equipment and continuing the repair. The campaign offered a path toward replacing tools, while the borrowing let the team continue working that evening. Those steps mattered in different ways: one addressed the immediate job, and the other aimed to restore the equipment the workers used in their trade.
As of the Oct. 29 fundraiser check, the replacement effort was still under way. The available reporting does not confirm that the missing equipment had been replaced. What it does show is a homeowner and a crew turning a difficult workday into a shared one: they kept repairing the house, ate together, and accepted help from others. The fundraiser left a next step open, while the day’s documented response gave the team a reason to keep going.
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