may 13, 2020

coronavirus impact on upcoming meetings and events

Dear VAD Members, Campers and Volunteers,

Over the past weeks the VAD Board has been in regular contact regarding the ongoing COVID situation. We have already had to make the difficult decision to cancel camp for the year along with many of the regularly scheduled meetings. Because of the limited access to meetings based on the Stay Home, Stay Safe orders and the Safe Start Plan recently announced, we will have to continue canceling our regular meetings and have therefore created a plan for moving forward. The VAD board has unanimously decided to halt external activities until March 2021.

What our plan means:

All in person meetings and events have been canceled until March of 2021, this includes the September Annual Meeting and most likely the Chili Cook-Off, and other events scheduled for 2021. At this time we have not made a decision regarding the 2021 Gala scheduled for March 20, 2021. The reasoning for this decision is; March is the earliest many of our members can safely attend meetings based on medical opinions we have been given and, we cannot ethically hold a vote if people did not have the opportunity to attend enough meetings to run and or vote for the board. Membership and voting rights will be determined by an individual’s attended meetings between September 2019 and March of 2020 and starting again in March 2021 per our bylaws.

What we WILL be doing:

In the meantime, the board will hold unofficial meetings, virtually, every 3 months starting at the end of May. We will be posting the financials every 3 months on the website though they will be unofficial as well since we cannot vote to approve them. The financial reports will reflect just the necessary bills that VAD pays during this time like storage or filing taxes. The board will also regularly check the help@vadcares.org email and Facebook for questions and concerns regarding the situation or special needs requests.

VAD wants you all to know we did not make this decision easily, we based it on medical evidence and opinions as well as legal research available to us. We felt this was the best compromise for everyone involved. Your health and safety is our first priority and many of our members are considered “high risk”, we had to consider their inclusion in matters as well.

We wish you all the very best through this difficult time and we on the board are very much looking forward to the day we can all safely return to laughing together and sharing those moments that make us the organization that we have been for almost 30 years. We all know very well how hard life can be at times and that will give us the strength to pull through this obstacle just like any of the others our community has faced.

If you or a VAD contact that you know are sick or experiencing hard times due to the crisis and would benefit from receiving a card from VAD, please let us know. Even though we cannot meet in person, we are still here for you. We hope to see you all in the near future and remember VAD Cares!

With hope,

The VAD Board

March 20, 2020

2020 Summer Camp is CANCELLED

Dear VAD volunteers and campers,

I trust and hope this message finds everyone healthy and well. This pandemic is something we all need to be mindful about and each and everyone of you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Recognizing that no one has an idea how long we will be affected by this pandemic the VAD Board had to make a decision to cancel camp this year. The decision to forgo VAD Camp 2020 and wait until next year is the most appropriate and responsible decision in order to protect as many of us as possible. Please know this is being done in everyone’s best interest.

In the interim, I will continue to hold camp planning meetings in preparation for VAD Camp 2021. Meetings will be held online and details will be released in the next week or two. Let’s make VAD Camp 2021 something to look forward to and celebrate.

Please do everything you can to keep yourselves healthy and happy. Let your beautiful spirits shine onto others and continue to do whatever you can to be a positive force to everyone you encounter. I look forward to better days and love each and every one of you.

Huge virtual hug,

Michael

VAD Camp Director

The 2020 VAD Board members

Questions?

Email us at help@vadcares.org or call 313.444.6344

Read the VAD Story