Last week there was a horrific explosion in downtown Durham, North Carolina that has greatly impacted our wonderful team at Duke Children’s Development office. Some of you may have seen the story, as it made national news late last week—but for those that have not, CLICK HERE for an article outlining last week’s events.

Duke Children’s Senior Executive Director, Amy Deshler, gave the following report:
The explosion occurred in an area adjacent to the Duke Health Development Office, where CMN Hospital’s Program Directors, Karen McClure, Kelly Partner and Zac Giffin work (among many others on the Foundation team). While Kelly and Zac were fortunately not in the office at the time, Karen was and had to evacuate the building immediately. As you will see from the picture below—the building was heavily damaged and will be closed indefinitely for repairs. As you can imagine, in such a hurry—everyone at the Foundation had to leave most things behind—including computers, cell phones and other personal items. Further detail and updates will be shared as the situation develops. 

Kristen Wiesz, Southeast Area Vice President, and our entire Southeast Area team is in close contact with Amy, Karen, Kelly and Zac and are working to assist them with anything they may need for upcoming campaigns that may have been lost or damaged in the explosion. As the team takes time to regroup and assess their needs, we ask for your thoughts and prayers to be with those affected and those that are moving forward following this traumatic experience.