May 15th update from our CEO
Dear Club families:
I hope you’re managing alright. We’ve heard from several of you, and from some of your kids. The kids tell us they miss the Club, and they miss their program leaders. And we miss your kids! We miss their conversation, their laughter, and their company.
I know you’re wondering about our programs. When can we re-open our doors? Will there be summer camp programs? What about fall registration? I don’t have answers to those questions today, but our team is working hard on it. Here’s what we’re up to:
- The Club will be included in the Government of Nova Scotia’s consultations with businesses and community groups about opening up our community.
- We’re looking at different ways to host summer camp programs. We may offer online programs, or a combination of online and in-Club programs.
Whatever we do, of course, must follow public health rules. When we talk about re-opening, we have to think about many things: Can we get into and use all our sites? (A couple of our Club locations are in city-managed centres, which are closed.) How many Canada Summer Job Grants will we receive to help us hire our wonderful staff? How many children can safely attend a program during a pandemic? We are working hard to answer all of these questions.
Right now, the operation and re-opening of a Boys and Girls Club feels like trying to put together a giant jigsaw puzzle without a picture to follow!
Safety will be the foundation of our operational plan for re-opening. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada is updating and refining health and safety guidelines for how to safely host staff and children during this time, and we are closely watching what Clubs in other provinces are doing.
We’d love to hear from you and your kids about how you’re doing! What do your kids miss about the Club? What do they love about the Club? If you or your kids would like to share a message, maybe an email or a short video, we’d love to share it with our funders, partners, and donors so they can see how much your Club means to you. Please send any messages or videos to our Director of Programs, Mike Vautour, at mike.vautour@bgcgh.ca. Thank you!
The pandemic has had an impact on our charity’s operation, and on our budget. We rely on program fees and fundraising to provide services to the community and our Club families. We’re not collecting program fees and we’re hearing from some businesses that they may not be able to support us or host their fundraising event for us this year. We understand, and we know many of our supporters and friends are also having a hard time. The Board of Directors and I are working hard to engage our community for support. If you or someone you know would like to make a donation, please visit www.bgcgh.ca.
We know some of your kids may still have belongings they need to pick up from their Club. Our plan is to set dates for you to pick these items up by the end of the month.
Thank you for reading and thank you for your patience! Take care and stay safe. As soon as we can provide an update on our programs, we will.
Sincerely, Henk
Henk van Leeuwen
CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Halifax