Our coaches, staff, and faculty have been overwhelmed with everyone who has reached out sending thoughts and prayers our way. They have been deeply felt and welcomed. In an extremely catastrophic time for our campus and region, it has been so humbling to see everyone's love and support for our college, students and student-athletes. I'm excited to report that all our students and staff are safe. All students have evacuated campus and relocated to safe places. Much of our staff has also evacuated the area and are safe. We have so much to be grateful for in that regard.
 
Many of you have reached out wanting to know how you can help our school and athletic department, and it's been difficult to even begin to process where to start. Tragically, we have had some employees lose their homes and all personal items.
 
From an athletic facility standpoint, our gym and everything inside is most likely a total loss. This is the central hub for our athletic department and houses our weight room and athletic training room. The following sports contain offices in that facility: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Track and Field, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Golf, Volleyball, Men's and Women's Wrestling, Cheer, Dance and Men's Lacrosse.
 
Our number one need right now is prayer for our community and region as the death total tragically continues to climb. This is an unprecedented tragedy for our area. However, many of you have asked how you can help, so I wanted to get something out.
 
The college has set up two separate funds that you can donate to financially: the first is a Campus Recovery Fund, and the second is a Community Benevolence Fund. Every dollar will directly aid in rebuilding our campus and supporting members of our community who have experienced significant property damage or loss.
If you wish to give to a specific program that was impacted, you can designate your gift accordingly.
 
To donate, please visit www.montreat.edu/recovery.
 
Please understand that our programs above have lost virtually everything from our gym. All equipment, gear and uniforms are gone. If you want more specific items about each sport, please feel free to contact me directly.
 
In closing, I'm privileged to serve alongside a special group of coaches, staff, faculty and student-athletes who make Montreat College the special place that it is. We are blessed with tremendous leadership at the college and a Board of Trustees that cares deeply about this place. Although the days ahead have a lot of unanswered questions, I couldn't be more excited about the future of Montreat College athletics. We serve a big God, and I continue to be blown away by how He uses His people to do amazing things even in the midst of challenging times. If we can do anything to serve you during this time, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.
 
Cavalier Strong,
Garrett Jones

*For the PDF version of this letter, click here.