Thieves steal computers from the Oakland Boys and Girls Club

OAKLAND, California. – The Boys and Girls Club of Oakland is facing a major setback after thousands of dollars worth of technology was stolen from them in a burglary on Wednesday. The organization said it relied on the stolen computers for the children’s development and playtime.

Staff at the Boys and Girls Club on International Boulevard said the children already face a laundry list of obstacles. For many of them, the technology lab is the only access to a computer outside of school, and this break-in is hurting the nonprofit’s ability to serve East Oakland youth.

In the 70 years the Boys and Girls Club has been open at International, employees say this is the biggest setback they have ever experienced.

Staff said an alarm went off around 8am and Bay Alarm alerted police two minutes later, but police did not respond.

Later that afternoon, when branch manager Darnell McCollouch arrived at the facility, he said he found eight computers, three TVs, a laptop, a PlayStation set, video games and $700 worth of Halloween candy for a party – nicked.

“They came in, I think they quickly grabbed what they could and left without doing too much serious damage,” McCollouch said.

McCollouch said they called police around 1 p.m., who came to report the incident about an hour later.

He said the thieves entered through the back of the building. “These things are heavy, you really had to have some force to get them off,” he said as he showed KTVU the damaged rear gate.

It took over a year to raise the money for the computer lab and in less than a year everything was stolen.

“I just played games and made art on the computers,” said club member Yesir, 9.

The three locations for the Boys and Girls Club of Oakland provide a safe haven for the community and keep hundreds of children away from the dangers of the streets.

Staff said between 30 and 40 children come to International through the club every day. In the summer that number doubles.

“The impact goes beyond just taking away computers, candy and smartphones, it robs them of their sense of security and personal safety,” said Kristy Lively, the club’s SMART Moves director, which creates prevention and education programs for members .

McCollouch said it was difficult to see the children’s faces after they realized the computers had been taken. “This was unfortunate because they were very upset when this closed.”

“I almost cried when I got home,” says club member Malai (9).

Despite the loss, staff kept smiles on their faces during a Halloween party. McCollouch said the stolen candy was replaced with family donations.

Now the nonprofit is asking for the community’s help to purchase new technical equipment and make repairs to the fence and locks.

The organization is also working on ways to increase safety.

A campaign raises $15,000 GoFundMe.