The health and safety of our volunteers, staff and all of our constituents remain our drivers as we address the COVID-19 outbreak and as we continue to pursue our mission, today and in the longer term. And, the senior leadership team continues to meet daily, to monitor the impact of COVID-19 across the country and on our organization.

Earlier today, we held a virtual town hall meeting for all staff nationwide. At that meeting, I announced that staff will work remotely, beginning tomorrow. To maintain service to constituents, contact center staff will work onsite through the weekend as we finalize the transition to fully remote operations. We will also have very limited ongoing exceptions, including a few staff to handle ongoing mail and related work. As already announced, anyone who has any discomfort in any of these circumstances will not be required to participate.

Remote operations will be indefinite as we continue to monitor this pandemic. Today, tomorrow and into next week, staff members will have the opportunity to access their offices to gather the items they need to work from home or elsewhere.

We are prepared with technological and other support for our staff to successfully operate this way. Tomorrow, we’ll host tailored webinars to ensure all staff have the understanding to utilize the remote technology and other support. We’ll deliver similar support sessions next week and beyond to facilitate ongoing operations. No doubt we’ll have some bumps along the way, but as with everything, we’ll work together to be successful.

Consistent with operating remotely, we will also reschedule existing or planned in-person gatherings, whether groups or individual meetings, effective immediately. These events and meetings of all types will either become virtual in the immediate term or be rescheduled live at later dates, when COVID-19 issues are resolved. We will entertain exceptions only in very unusual and compelling mission-driven circumstances.

We will continue to follow the evolution of COVID-19 on a daily and even hourly basis and we will continue to communicate regularly, including virtual town hall meetings with all staff at least weekly.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly. You and any member of staff should always feel free to contact your supervisor or your human resources representative as well. As a volunteer, please work with your local staff or reach out to us at the home office anytime.

None of us want to be addressing these issues, but, of course, we need to. Working together to navigate through such times will keep us on the progressive path we’re on to success in delivering on our mission and realizing our vision.

I deeply appreciate all of your many contributions, your resilience in these challenging times and your relentless dedication to our mission.

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Harry Johns, Alzheimer’s Association