Hillsborough daycare playground vandalized
It was a disappointing start to the week for the kids and employees at a Hillsborough daycare.
East Coast Kids Childcare and Learning Centre Owner Karen Lindsay says the children were very upset to find their playground had been vandalized.
“We took the kids down to the playground, and we usually do a check around the playground just to make sure it’s safe for the children, and there are no broken pieces, or it’s not vandalized. And to our surprise, it was vandalized. The children were so very upset when they came across their safe space to find that the playground had been vandalized. This is a place where young children learn, play and create happy memories each day. So seeing it damaged is definitely heartbreaking for the staff who put so much work into it, and for the children who use it. It was definitely in disarray, and a lot of broken items on the playground.”
They believe it happened on Saturday or Sunday.
Not the first time they’ve dealt with vandalism
“We’re guessing that it’s some teens possibly out in the area. There really isn’t a place in Hillsborough for teenagers to go and hang out. We used to have a drop-in centre in our area through the Boys and Girls Club, and unfortunately, that closed for various reasons. I feel like there needs to be something else in the area for these kids to spend their time with,” Lindsay explained.
She added that they didn’t immediately contact RCMP because they had a few leads, and they would rather make a few phone calls to parents first.
“As a youngster, we’ve all made mistakes, and I would hate to see the police involved. I’m hoping to just reach out to the parents, and hopefully they’re able to communicate well and understand and talk to their children about vandalizing in the community,” Lindsay said.
She explained that the area school has cameras and they planned to reach out to the district to see the footage, but they are now considering putting their own cameras up as well.
“We’re hoping to reach out to some local workers to help us put some things back together, and maybe help us to purchase new items, and maybe do a fundraiser for that. These items on the playground, the mud kitchen, the structure, the playhouse, these items are quite expensive. We are also accepting donations,” Lindsay stated.
It was difficult to try to explain this to the children, some of whom don’t understand why someone would want to vandalize their playground. Lindsay told our newsroom they had to explain that sometimes these things happen, but it’s important that we move forward and pick up the pieces, rebuild and take a negative and turn it into a positive.
“We don’t want to have to put a lock. We’ve been there at the school and had our enclosed area on the playground for 13 years now. We’ve had damaged fences, we’ve had damaged roofs, and we’ve had damaged toys smashed. But we’ve never wanted to put a lock on the gate, because we want to be able to leave it open for the community to use. And we really don’t want to have to take that step, but we may have to, if this continues to happen, unfortunately.”
Lindsay is grateful for all of the community support and asks that anyone with information or donations reach out via their website.
