March 17, 2020
Dear LearnServe Family,
We hope that this message finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy as we adjust to a new normal. Like many of you, we have been wrestling with how best to support the LearnServe community through the weeks and months ahead.
We continue to monitor recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, alongside guidance from local school systems and the DC Department of Health. With this guidance in mind, and with the support of the LearnServe Board, we will be making the following changes to our programs and events:
- Community of Support. We recognize that families are affected by the pandemic, social distancing, and economic downturn in different ways. We have begun to compile community resources in DC, MD, and VA and will share them once we have a thorough list. Please let us know if you are in need of assistance — or if you may be in a position to support others in our LearnServe community.
- LearnServe Office. All LearnServe staff will work remotely until restrictions on social distance are lifted. Though we will not be spending time together in person in the coming weeks, we would love to hear from you!
- LearnServe Abroad. We have taken the difficult decision to cancel all four LearnServe Abroad 2020 trips. We know how much our 60 travelers had been eagerly anticipating their experiences in Zambia, Paraguay, Jamaica, and South Africa. For many, this would have been their first time abroad. All students will receive priority enrollment for LearnServe Abroad 2021. We are exploring what local, alternative programs we might offer this summer.
- LearnServe Fellows. Our weekly sessions — as well as our annual Change Fest pitch competition — will continue in a virtual-only format through the end of the semester. We recognize that access to technology is different for each household; we will take that into consideration as we plan. We will be back in touch with virtual ways you can help the LearnServe Fellows develop their venture ideas, draft their proposals, and hone their pitches over the coming weeks. (Ideas always welcome!)
- LearnServe Gala. Our annual Gala, originally scheduled for April 3, honoring Dr. Barbara Harman, Ginea Briggs, and Malachi Byrd, has been postponed. This is always one of our favorite moments to bring together the LearnServe family, and celebrate the power of young people to create change. It is also one of our most important sources of revenue each year. We will be reaching out individually to those who have purchased tickets or joined as sponsors. And we will be back in touch soon with details on virtual opportunities to support LearnServe, build community, and celebrate student-led social change. Please consider making a donation today.
At its core, LearnServe is about bringing people together to catalyze change. As the need for social distancing grows, we will begin to feel the acute absence of our in-person community. Our hope is that virtual opportunities to connect with our LearnServe students and their impact can help keep us connected, inspired, and hopeful. We will be in touch about ways you can be part of that virtual community.
More importantly, it is just as essential now — if not more so — to come together. Even small actions — checking in on neighbors and friends; providing childcare; donating food; connecting others to available resources — go a long way. We hope you will stay active and engaged!
To that end, please let us know how you are doing, how we can help, or how you might help others in the LearnServe family. We’d love to hear from you!
With great appreciation, and wishes for full health for you and your family,
Scott, Sabine, Emma, Florence and Semira