Sometime overnight on Saturday, a local Concord business on Manchester Street was broken into, ransacked and robbed of more than $4,000 in cash, technology and equipment.
Early Sunday morning, less than 20 minutes before a child’s birthday party was scheduled to start, an employee arrived at Sensory Seekers to find that the side door of the business was kicked in and shattered, toys and equipment were strewn across the outside of the property, paint and cleaning products were dumped on mats and play areas and eight black lights, four computers and a soundbar. About $500 in cash, chargers, speakers and strobe lights were missing.
“It was a big mess but we were able to get things cleaned up and still have enough equipment to be open,” said April Campbell, owner of Sensory Seekers, an indoor playground that offers a toned-down enrichment environment for children who need a little less volume in their lives. “It was just heartbreaking to be honest. We’re here trying to help improve the lives of children.”
The incident remains under investigation by the Concord Police Department. No suspects have been identified at this time.
The business, which opened in Concord in September, caters specifically to children with sensory processing issues, like autism spectrum disorder and ADHD, and trauma, by promoting the use of free play in an open gym environment.
Campbell has been an early childhood educator in New Hampshire for over 21 years, a longtime foster parent, and the mother of an autistic son.
The idea for her business came from knowing that standard recreational spaces don’t work for all kids and the large open gym is equipped with mats, small tunnels, a crash pit, a rope tunnel and wings that hang from the ceiling to help kids work on their social, sensory and motor skills in a way that’s fun and calming.
Even without the stolen equipment and the damage done to the facility, Campbell didn’t close her doors to the community and has started a fundraiser in hopes of raising enough money to replace the items she lost.
At the time of the break-in, Campbell was in the process of getting cameras installed and noted that it was strange none of the other businesses in the plaza were impacted and none of the tenants above her business heard anything.
“I did report it to the Concord Police Department but I wasn’t thinking about fingerprints when my employee found it in the morning,” Campbell said. “We started to clean everything up for the birthday party, which compromised the investigation.”
Still, Campbell provided police with photos and videos of the damage to the interior and exterior of the facility which she hopes will help police in their investigation.
“Some of it seemed juvenile in nature,” Campbell said. “It’s hard – we can speculate all day long but it’s hard to know. We don’t even know how many were here altogether.”