| Dear Camp Family, We are grateful for your many inquiries and we wish to share that all of our camp staff members are safe and accounted for. Our camp community’s warm response has been uplifting in this difficult moment. Thankfully, the camps have weathered the storm with minimal damage. Many local to us were not so fortunate. Due to the storm’s impact, we will be closing our office this week to focus on our local community’s needs. We will begin responding to our email again next week. Please be patient with us, as our internet capabilities are currently limited and intermittent, and almost all of our team is without cell service. Our phone lines are down, and it may be a while before they are operational. As we gather ourselves after the storm, we are keenly aware of the losses many have suffered: loss of homes, possessions, livelihoods, and loved ones. Western NC has weathered big storms and floods before, but nothing compared to Hurricane Helene. While our own Transylvania County’s problems are serious, the counties north of us (Buncombe, Madison, Jefferson, Watauga, etc.) received catastrophic blows. Rivers swelled to 100 times their usual size after receiving almost 30 inches of rain over 72 hours. Landslides and worsened flooding from dam breaches followed. Search and rescue efforts remain ongoing. More than a hundred lives have been lost thus far and hundreds of people are still missing. There are many remote mountain communities stranded due to road destruction (over 300 roads are unnavigable currently in WNC). These people are now only accessible by air or by arduous hike. Communications have been limited to nonexistent in many areas as 85 of 87 regional cell towers are down. Much of WNC is on a water boil advisory, if they have running water at all. The bottom line: There is an urgent need for help–for funding, supplies, prayers, and manpower–in all States impacted by Hurricane Helene. We have received questions from many of you about how you can help. I am sharing below some organizations that we understand to be actively directing relief efforts locally. They need supplies, donations, or hands on volunteering with teams on the ground. If you can, consider reaching out to your church, school, or other local communities to put together a drive for needed items, especially water, or to put together teams of volunteers to join forces with one of these trusted organizations. This is a difficult time. Thank you for all of your support and especially for your prayers. We are so grateful for all of you. Sincerely, The Trufants and the CKC Team |
