A Sunday break-in damaged, destroyed, or stole almost all of the Harrisburg Boys & Girls Club’s equipment in its John N. Hall Clubhouse.
When staff members got to the clubhouse at 17th and Hanover Street on Monday, they found that every piece of equipment in the building was either broken or gone. Executive Director Mark Hawthorne said that every television was damaged and that video games, computers, and bicycles were taken.
According to Hawthorne, someone used the building’s fire extinguishers to cover handheld devices like Jenga and Connect4 and all other games, destroying them.
According to Hawthorne, the club has to pay roughly $12,000 for damages after the building was looted. He stated it costs almost $1,000 only to restock the fire extinguishers.
The clubhouse will reopen as scheduled for after-school programs on September 2 after being shuttered during the summer owing to a lack of funding. But, according to Hawthorne, it will lack most of the resources that urban kids need for homework or entertainment.
Over 75 kids have signed up for the club’s after-school activities. The clubhouse has been vandalized in the past, but not recently or to this degree, according to Hawthorne.
He described it as heartbreaking. Since everything they were drawn to was destroyed, there just isn’t much for kids to do when they arrive.
According to Hawthorne, witnesses informed him that the suspects seemed to be young people who broke in through a door on Sunday afternoon or evening.
In an effort to identify culprits, Harrisburg police stated they are looking into the matter and pursuing leads.
Since many of the things were donated to the Boys & Girls Club, leadership does not have invoices for the value of the stolen and damaged objects, making the insurance procedure difficult.
According to Hawthorne, he anticipates that the break-in will force premiums, which have already increased gradually over the previous four years, to increase once more.
Some will be replaced by insurance, but there are man-hours involved, he added. Cleaning has been going on for the past week.
Hawthorne pondered in an opinion piece he shared with PennLive whether the break-in was the consequence of bored Harrisburg kids who had no constructive summer activities and turned to vandalism as a way to cope.
We are all responsible for our children’s future, and ensuring that every child has a secure and supportive environment to call home will need collaboration from corporations, civic organizations, religious communities, and individuals,” he stated.
There are more waiting children for each one we serve. It will take us all to provide our kids with the best they deserve.”
The Angino Clubhouse is located at 1227 Berryhill St.; anyone who would like to give money or replacement products can do so by calling 717-234-3268, extension 100. You can also get in touch with the Boys & Girls Club via its Facebook page.
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Jenna Wise
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