Hello Villagers,
It's time to implement Phase 3 of our Coronavirus plan. As daycares across the city begin closing their doors over the next several days, we too will be following suit. Beginning Monday, 3/23 only Co-Working will be available here at Le Village. We will miss every tiny face here.
For many of you, you and your spouse are now attempting to work out of the same space for the first time. And take care of your little one. Likely, neither of you is getting much of anything done. In order to continue to support our working parents, we will be waiving all secondary membership fees. The idea is for our members and their spouses/partners to be able to utilize the space in "turns". Someone will be with the kids at home, and someone will have the freedom to use the space and work or get some much needed time out of the house. We will exercise all caution and implement a 6-foot clause at Le Village - but luckily we have a really big space that allows us to easily do that!
As far as our little ones go, we will continue to deliver content and materials right to your inbox with thoughtfully curated activities for your baby/toddler/preschooler. For those of you that come in--sign up to receive activity care packages with supplies to do at home!
We are hopeful that this is a very temporary closure to a portion of our program. Many may wonder why we have remained open as long as we have, but as countless articles have noted, childcare facilities have gotten little to no help or direction. To make it more concerning, we are not a state-supported school. We must wait for measures and support that all small businesses are seeking. But that is not my biggest worry right now. The thing that keeps me up at night is how our staff is going to financially withstand this pandemic.
Most are recent college graduates or transplants that have not worked in Illinois for the period of time required for unemployment. I am doing everything in my own power to take care of them, giving them hours as work allows, but I came to the realization last night that I can't do it alone. As more and more people are putting their memberships on hold, I am asking openly for your help to take care of them. I have started a go-fund-me here. I know that everyone is trying to take care of their own families, but if you have anything extra to help them keep their heads above water during this difficult time, I know their families will be ever grateful. Every cent will go to them. Please feel free to share in your own networks - grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles. Should you need independent care, please reach out to me and I will connect you with a willing staff member.
As always, I am here for each of you. I hope that our services as you all work from home are still beneficial. We will continue to work and develop ways to connect and support each other here at Le Village! Our final phase will be a full closure. We will continue to monitor the situation closely as we have done over the last several weeks.
Thank you again for your support during this difficult time.