Hello, everyone!
I hope this message finds you well and with a feeling optimism in our state’s ability to
#flattenthecurve
! The swift and early actions by our state government are working and the curve in Washington state is flattening. As difficult as it is, continued
social distancing
is still vital to our community and
will help us reopen Edgeworks
much sooner!
Please remember:
- Stay at least 6 feet from other people, more if running or biking.
- Do not gather in groups.
- Stay out of crowded places and avoid mass gatherings.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face cover when around others. (i.e. grocery stores)
The Edgeworks Community
We’ve truly enjoyed the connections we’ve maintained
with so many of you through our online platforms of
Facebook
,
Instagram
, Hangouts and Zoom. For those who are not on social media, be sure to check out our
website
for details on how you can stay connected with us too!
Your Membership Dollars
We understand that supporting our employees has been the #1 reason many of you chose to maintain your membership billing through March and April. Your support has been
incredibly meaningful
to us and our entire staff community; we will always be
immensely grateful
to each and every one of you. And, we want you to know how your membership dollars have been used.
Because of you ...
- 43 Edgeworks employees have continued to receive their regular pay; your membership dollars paid for 75% of payroll since we closed.
- Your combined membership dollars have helped cover 50% of our bare bones operating expenses.
- The remaining 50% is being paid for by the limited reserves we have; these remaining expenses include the rest of the payroll, rent, insurance, utilities, merchant fees and construction debt.
Your support is so important!
Not only for our employees right now but also for the entire Edgeworks community of members and climbers who want to return to climbing when we reopen.
Government Relief Opportunity
I feel very lucky to announce that Edgeworks has received a loan from the
SBA Paycheck Protection Program
- a loan that helps businesses keep their workforce employed during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Under the requirements of this program, 75% of the funds received must be used to pay staff 8 weeks of wages, with the remaining 25% being applied toward a portion of our rent.
Your membership still matters.
While this additional funding will not cover all of our monthly expenses, it will certainly provide some much needed financial relief during an uncertain time. We’ve already gone through part of our reserves, and with the SBA funding being limited in dollars and length of time,
our members continue to be important
to our staff and the prospect of our reopening.
We understand that news of this funding may change your viewpoint; we honor and thank you either way, and are immensely grateful to our members who stay active.
Re-Opening Date + Details
Like so many of you, the best we can do now is to peer into our
crystal ball of COVID-19
projection graphs
, hope for that curve to keep flattening and do our best to
“stay home, stay healthy
”.
As the lockdown order is lifted
(currently May 4th)
,
we anticipate reduced restrictions to happen gradually over a number of weeks
, keeping some levels of social distancing guidelines still in place. Businesses like bars, restaurants and gyms were the
first to close
, and will likely be
some of the last to reopen
. We could be wrong, but continued closure is a possibility that we and many other climbing gyms are preparing for as social distancing requirements are progressively eased.
When our doors do re-open,
restrictions may limit the number of climbers
we allow in the gym at one time. As we work to identify exactly what this might look like, please know that we’re considering several options that will
prioritize access for our members
ahead of non-members.
More details to come!
Membership Freezes
We know that some of the news shared in this email, including our inability to answer the question of when we’ll be able to re-open,
may cause more of you to freeze your memberships
. This is a difficult time for many and we respect everyone’s decisions to do what’s right for their individual situations.
May the 4th be with us!
Until then, we’ll keep moving forward - along with all the rest of you. Making the most of our new daily norms and responsibly enjoying these sunny spring days. We look forward to staying connected with you and especially love seeing all of your photos and videos so please be sure to keep sharing them with us.
And always remember,
#WeGotThisTacoma
!
