Whew! Things have escalated fast! Within 24 hours I went from thinking “we’ll just have bottles of hand sanitizer available and ask people to avoid shaking hands” to “well, of course there’s no question we need to cancel or postpone these events!”

That was last Wednesday. Since then, the WCG Board has been in deep discussion about our response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. It is clear to us that the responsible thing to do is join with the rest of the world in practicing social distancing.

Because of this, we will be suspending all of our events for the next month at least. The following three events are the first to be affected:

Ring Making Workshop, March 29:  we are in discussions to reschedule this workshop in the summer. For those who would like to maintain their spot in the class, sit tight and we will let you know as soon as we have a new date. Anyone who would like to give up their space, just contact us and we will refund your fee.

April Monthly Meeting, April 2:  This meeting is canceled. We are so sad to miss out on Tammy Hong’s talk as well as the chance to tour Mount Vernon! Hopefully we will be able to secure this venue for next year and Tammy has promised to speak in the fall.

Because we will be missing the April meeting, our terrific Communications Team is working to provide online content for the membership that we think you will all enjoy. An email will go out as soon as that is ready.

Materials Swap, April 4: This event is rescheduled for June 27. Look for future announcements and continue to gather your excess supplies for this fun afternoon!

At this point, we have not made a decision about our final meeting of the year, the May Business Meeting. We will re-assess the situation and update you before the end of April. Fairfax County Libraries are still planning on our Preservation Week event on May 2. Any changes to this will go out to the membership.

Let’s be sensible and safe out there. If we all take this seriously, we have a good chance of “flattening the curve.” Please give thought to those in the conservation community who will be hit especially hard:  contractors who depend on working onsite; interns and fellows who might not have decent health insurance coverage or sick leave; and those who are immunocompromised. For those of us who are more fortunate, this is a good time to increase donations to food banks, buy gift cards to local businesses to help them stay afloat and simply keep in touch with each other.

Take care,

Jayne Holt
President, WCG