How ROW is Responding to Global Pandemic
ROW’s mission to empower women diagnosed with breast cancer and provide them the means to interact with their peers while being active in their recovery doesn’t change, and it remains of critical importance to our members no matter the external circumstances.
In fact, when the world outside begins raising alarm, this community is where many of members will first look for solidarity and reassurance.
So, when we made the choice to suspend onsite practices and community rowing for the health and safety of all, we immediately went into action on a plan to relaunch those programs virtually. Our goal was to provide not only the physical fitness our team needs but the sense of togetherness they crave.
Our first challenge was that of ergs. Indoor rowing requires indoor rowing machines! We decided to lend out our own ergs to any team member who wanted to take one home, and as of last week, we had only two machines remaining on our property. The team was now ready to tackle practice from their living rooms, basements, garages and dining areas!
Virtual ROW practices and “Coffee with Jenn” both launched on Monday, March 23. Throughout the pilot week, we had more than 30 members log in for conversations, coffee and fitness. Together, we navigated technical glitches and streamlined our approach, ensuring that we could confidently and effectively deliver our programs and sustain our mission.
What about the water season?
Our masters spring season, which was meant to launch on April 15, remains in question, though we have high hopes that neither the novice season nor the masters fall season will be impacted. Of course, as guardians of our entire team, we will continue to monitor current health and safety recommendations and act always in the interest of those we serve. No doubt there will be more tough choices ahead, but we will communicate regularly and plainly first to our team and then to our broader community.
What else will ROW do virtually?
Along with the rest of world, our reality changes weekly—sometimes daily—and our choices must be made in the moment with the most reliable sources of information. This means we cannot say precisely all that will be offered virtually because many things are still a work in progress, and we must continuously weigh choices against the needs and expectations of our team.
Even so, within the next two weeks we plan to launch virtual bodyweight training, running sessions, coach’s hours and an educational webinar series, all of which will be exclusive to ROW members. This will be in addition to the virtual program we are already offering our members. Further additional programs may include virtual community rowing, which will be open to anyone who registers for classes through MindBody.
ROW is an organization built to be a steadfast but nimble, and we are learning every day about how we can best serve our team and engage our broader community of families, friends, partners and supporters. As we launch new programs or further pivot our efforts in response to changing quarantine protocols, we will post news to our blog and social channels and share key announcements to our newsletter list.
As we face evolving challenges in the days ahead, we know this season will prove ROW’s resilience, strength and relevance, and we are grateful to both our team, for staying connected and driving together even from afar, and to all who are helping us continue to thrive—board and associate board members, donors and program partners.