COVID has been a stressful time for many businesses and non-profit organizations, and the Music School is no different. We have had to make tough decisions over the last couple of months, including to close our doors to prevent the spread of the virus. For most students, lessons were transferred to a virtual format, and while certainly not ideal, it was a great alternative in a chaotic situation.
We are working on forming a plan to reopen our musical doors for lessons this Fall for private lessons, which, as I’m sure you know, involves several moving pieces. Social distancing in small classrooms, sanitizing processes for every person and instrument, maximum capacity requirements…the list goes on. Using the Worksafe BC COVID-19 Safety Plan, we are confident we will be able to meet the provincial and health requirements.
Through all of this uncertainty, we received some very welcome news. We are very excited to announce some COVID relief that has been so graciously given to us through a grant by the Vancouver Foundation. The Vancouver Foundation exists to bring together community assets to address current and emerging community needs. They set up an Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF), offering grants of up to $50,000. The ECSF is a rapid response fund program initiated by the Government of Canada through an investment of $350 million to charities and non-profit organizations across Canada. Community Foundations of Canada (CFC), United Way Centraide Canada (UWCC), and the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) are working together with the federal government to deploy funding at the local level.
With this grant, we are able to continuing doing what we do best: continue to build community within our school, while supporting and encouraging future community leaders through the art of music.
