Those of you who were on our campus on Sunday morning, January 28, likely already know that we experienced a break-in and theft on Saturday night. This (we hope!) was the culmination of a host of security issues over the last month. We have had cameras and an alarm system for many years, and as things have escalated over the last month, we have tried to be more vigilant. We made several reports to the Gainesville Police Department. Our security system is old and many keys to the UCG facilities were previously out in the world, but  we had, in fact, just re-keyed all the outside doors last week. On Saturday evening, the person entered the building through an office window after damaging the gate to the rear of the building, and as it happened our alarm system was on the fritz. 

We consider ourselves very lucky, though at the same time we are unsettled and upset. There will be significant costs to repairing some electronics and to the re-keying, but nothing irreplaceable was stolen and no one was hurt. Lisa Goldstein, Shanna Swiers, and Catherine Cake arrived on campus right away and helped the officers from the Gainesville Police Department gather information and file another report. They cancelled credit cards and called in the mobile locksmith. They bought dowels to block the windows and worked on Monday to reposition cameras and get the alarm system back online. There have been charges filed against the identified person who broke in, but there does not appear to be any motive; they seemed mostly just to be looking for access to cash.  

One of the key components of the essential improvements list of the proposed capital campaign is updated and improved security for our building. As we try to find our footing again, the staff is grateful for your support – shown through offers to clean and repair, with baked goods and love. We will let you know when further information comes available.