TORONTO, March 17, 2020 – We know these are uncertain times and have no doubt you are in the midst of your own business continuity planning as the world faces the risks of the evolving COVID-19 situation. At Capitalize for Kids our goal has always been to create safe, healthy event environments that inspire you, our fundraisers and our sponsors in order to help raise vital funds for our consulting work so we can help build capacity for kids’ mental health agencies across the country. Of course our Beneficiaries are also facing challenging conditions as they try to support their clients (kids and families) when the playbook is constantly changing.
As the COVID-19 situation continues to develop, we are moving forward with caution, while closely following the World Health Organization (WHO), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Ontario Minister of Health for guidelines in advance of our events and for our ongoing operations.
We want to share with you our current plans regarding events:
MORNING MEETING SERIES
Our first scheduled breakfast for April 14th will be postponed indefinitely. We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to update the status of our events as more information becomes available. Future scheduled dates are tentative at this point.
BAY STREET GAMES
Today, we are as committed as ever to a safe, healthy, successful event to crown Bay Street’s fittest firm. While Bay Street Games is still three months away and is currently unchanged, we want you to know we are taking this matter seriously. As the situation evolves, we may need to modify some aspects of Bay Street Games for the safety of all our participants, volunteers and supporters and we ask for your patience as we determine the form those modifications, if any, may take. With this said, we are taking the following actions:
• April 15, 2020 will be a critical decision date regarding postponement or cancellation. We are working with the Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre to identify suitable alternative dates in the event we believe postponement will enable the successful delivery of Bay Street Games in 2020. If we can’t be sure of this, given continued community concerns around COVID-19, then we will cancel the event for 2020.
• If the event is postponed, we will continue to host the fundraising pages for all participants, ensuring they are well positioned to meet their fundraising goals. If a team can’t be available for this new date, then we will refund all monies collected for registrations and offer your donors the opportunity to have their donations refunded, if they wish to do so.
• If the event is cancelled, we will refund all monies collected for registrations, and offer your donors the opportunity to have their donations refunded, if they wish to do so.
Of course, we remain hopeful that we can host you and your teams for the 3rd Annual Bay Street Games on June 5th at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.
C4K INVESTORS CONFERENCE
This event is currently the most important stream of revenue in our portfolio of events. With execution many months away, we remain very optimistic that the event will still be able to run as scheduled. We continue engaging speakers, sponsors and attendees to try and build the best conference yet. We will continue to monitor the situation and we will update you if anything changes.
We appreciate your patience and ongoing support as we try our best to respond to this rapidly changing situation. All the best to you and your families during this unprecedented period of time.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to any member of our team.
Regards,
Quentin Broad
Managing Director, Capitalize for Kids