General Circle Craft Update
Dear Members,
As you are aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented Circle Craft with a variety of complex and unprecedented challenges which both your staff and board continue to work hard to mitigate.
While these challenges can be unsettling, they also offer unique opportunities for organizations (willing and able to adapt and embrace them) to become more agile, resilient, and robust.
For this reason, it is our intention to keep you up to date (to the best of our ability) with regards to both the Cooperative’s current status and the opportunities we are pursuing on your behalf. Please find below a summary of our latest changes and news items:
Christmas Market:
- While the Vancouver Convention Center has not yet officially cancelled the market, they have assured us we can expect a decision in late August.
Operations:
- We are happy to announce that Federal funding has now been secured in the form of an ongoing rent subsidy for the store, and we are working with CMHC to get the best financial support we can.
- We have closed our eighth street office to reduce cash outflows. This has not been a great hardship as staff have been able to work from home in compliance with Covid-19 restrictions.
Personnel (staff and board):
- David Camisa has left to pursue his own artwork and we wish him the best of success in this endeavor.
- Lorna Moffat has resigned from the board for personal reasons. While Lorna will be dearly missed on the board we are delighted that she plans to stay actively involved in the Cooperative as a volunteer.
We thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time of rapid change, especially with regards to our new staff members who are enthusiastically embracing their new roles in what we trust is a nurturing and uplifting working environment.
