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Harriet Schiftan President and CEO Gilda's Club Middle Tennessee free cancer support Nashville
Harriet Schiftan, President and CEO

When Will I See You Again?

July 1, 2020

Dear Gilda’s Club Community,

As we begin the month of July, I have lyrics from the Three Degrees song “When Will I See You Again” (written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff) playing in my head. It’s a great song, and though I imagine it is written about a relationship, the longing, yearning, and uncertainty it expresses feels so timely. “When will I see you again? Will I have to wait forever? Is this my beginning or is this the end? When will we share precious moments? When will I see you again?”

I know I speak for our entire staff when I say we cannot wait to see you at the Gilda’s Club clubhouse again!

For now, we will continue to provide all of our cancer support groups, programs, and workshops virtually and via Zoom to enable members to stay safely at home, yet connected to the Gilda’s Club community, especially those who are in treatment, immune compromised, or in a high-risk group.

We are closely monitoring local Metro Health Department guidelines and data regarding rates of Covid-19 cases, transmission, and the Mayor’s Roadmap to Reopening Nashville. Our cancer support program will remain entirely virtual until at least August 31, 2020.

Currently, we are cleaning and preparing the clubhouse for our eventual return. The first phase will be to invite our staff back to work while maintaining safe social distance, wearing masks, sanitizing high-touch areas, mapping out one-way traffic flow, and minimizing gatherings. After we have successfully brought our staff back to work, we will reconfigure our clubhouse spaces for socially distanced gathering for small groups. We will need to consult with our volunteers and group leaders to assess their readiness to lead socially distanced small groups. We do not have a timeline for these phases, but will be guided by data and continue to update you.

Please continue to reach out as you need resources, support, or have virtual program ideas. Check out our weekly virtual program calendar and join in an activity! Utilize and share our online Virtual Self-Care Resource Guide, which is updated monthly on our website. In the past four months, we have received more requests for resources and participation than we normally receive in a year!

Finally, Gilda’s Club will be closed July 3-10 for the holiday weekend and a week of furlough. In order to continue to be financially prudent, plan for long-term sustainability, and be responsive to the current economic climate, we have committed to two one-week staff furloughs during the coming year; next week is our first one. We look forward to returning all incoming messages and requests when we return July 13.

We look forward to being together again soon.

Sincerely,

Harriet Schiftan
President and CEO
Harriet@gildasclubmiddletn.org