LCS Bulletin March 25, 2020

[Floradude]

 

The Lake Chapala Society Board of Directors came together to address next steps as it relates to CORONAVIRUS. As a result, the board has made the following decisions, effective today:

 

• The Board of Directors followed the State of Jalisco’s "5 Dias en Casa” initiative. This initial 5 - day period has been extended at least through this Sunday. Please see the translation of today’s Governors message attach.
• The Board has agreed to keep our campus and the Wilkes Center closed for the time being and will continue to have ongoing conversations to determine when we will reopen. We believe this is in the best interest of the largest number of people to help control the coronavirus within the foreign and Mexican communities.
• The Lake Chapala Society Annual General Meeting (AGM) that was scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 19, was postponed to a later date. Plans are being considered that could enable AGM business to be conducted online or by other means in lieu of holding an in-person meeting. .
• We have temporarily suspended all programs, activities, events and services, including our libraries until the level of contact with others is safer. This includes those offered at the Wilkes Center.
• The best guidelines to contain the coronavirus is to:
  • continue to be to Stay at Home,
  • wash your hands frequently,
  • limit trips out of the house as much as possible, and
  • when you do have to interact with other people, please respect Social Distancing guidelines of two meters (six feet).
• Our staff who are able to work from home are maintaining some of our existing initiatives.
• We have several new initiatives in the works at this time.
  • LCS Reaching Out Program - we have recruited over 80 volunteers who are mobilized and ready to reach out to members, especially those who live alone, have no family in the area and want to be contacted on a daily basis.  This service has now been extended to the community at large.

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• • Online learning opportunities. One of our IT volunteers has held Tech training sessions through the use of Zoom, an application that allows for group participation and interactions online.
  • Our Education team is also working on the use of Zoom to hold Conversational Spanish and English sessions.
  • We are sending out frequent Bulletins with updates on LCS activities as well as general information on the coronavirus.
• We have waived all late fees for books and DVDs. So, if you have books or DVDs in your possession do not worry about getting them turned in at this time. When we reopen the campus, you can then return the books.
• We are aware that many rumors are being spread. We encourage everyone to use caution in distributing information that has not been verified from reliable, official sources.
• Below are links to some sources we monitor that we have found helpful.
• We also encourage all members of the foreign community to monitor official websites from your home country.
• These actions are designed to reduce the threat of spreading this disease and spreading false information, while keeping the Lake Chapala Society available to the community to help assist those that may be in need.  We want to assure you that the legacy of ‘people helping people’ is not lost during these critical times. We are your community and we are here for you! And while many of our members are returning to their native countries, many more are here all-year round, along with so many in the Mexican community that rely on LCS as a connection with the foreign community.  We need your continued support through both your membership and generous donations.

Keeping all this in mind, you will be able to stay connected by renewing your membership online and you will receive a credit towards future classes for trips and events that have been postponed. Or you can use the same tickets when these programs are rescheduled, so please hold on to your receipts or tickets.  Any donations to assist us with continuing our mission at Lake Chapala Society and allowing our staff to maintain the grounds would be greatly appreciated. We are your community and we are here for you!

 

Warm regards,

Carole Wolff

President