It was two weeks ago that I knew I had to announce our community minded plans to not run in-person classes for a while. I was so upset and scared that I was literally nauseous. Would our members stick with us and support our community through this unprecedented time of uncertainty? I owe all of you an apology for even wondering that. The Aerial Dance Sisterhood is simply amazing.
First to our Pole Members, thank you for continuing with your payment plans knowing we will get back to it as soon as we can. Thank you for becoming more active on our Member Motivation FB page so we know how you’re doing during this. A few of you have added a Fitness Membership during this to take classes at home and that is truly helpful and appreciated. Thank you for trusting that you will get every class and practice in your package as soon as we can resume in person. And you will. And then some. Because I am so grateful I haven’t been inundated with emails and you’re calmly trusting Aerial Dance to deliver on the flip side. Thank you!
To our Fitness Members, thank you for making the switch to online classes seamlessly. Thank you for using your monthly package in that format and choosing to continue to grow, from home, during this time. Thank you for becoming more active on our Member Motivation FB page and for bringing your positive energy to our online classes! We love seeing you during this time and learning even more about you.
To our All Inclusive Members, thank you for rolling with the change to online. Your attendance in classes has been awesome. You are keeping our community strong by being more active than ever in both FB groups. Your positive comments about the FB LIVE workouts and the new online content has been amazing. I appreciate the respectful way you’re making requests for different types of classes or workouts. I appreciate that you are bringing enthusiasm to our online classes and that because those classes are running we are able to continue to employ our Instructors. Your choice to stand with us during this time is impacting a lot of lives for the better and I am so grateful to each and every one of you.
The the anonymous women who upped the game by donating to the Sisterhood Scholarship. Wow. When it was founded a year ago there was no global pandemic on the horizon with a 20% increase in unemployment. And yet here we are. The scholarship is more appreciated now than ever because so many of our members are in need. By allowing members to apply and use scholarship funds keeps memberships current and revenue coming in, which in turn allows me to pay my instructors; this truly means the world to me. Even more amazing is that number of women that have stepped up the last week and added to the scholarship fund to help others during this time. Seeing such kindness brings me such joy. Thank you for being part of our community.
To my Instructors, I simply don’t have words. You pivoted on short notice to become online teachers. You haven’t been trained properly for a one sided workout but you’re knocking it out of the park. You’ve learned new technology and welcomed our students into your homes. You’ve innovated with household goods and continue to bring creativity to every class to keep things interesting. Workshops that we normally offer sparingly because of the time they take to create you are now offering multiple times a week. I am in awe of you. And you do it all the extra work with positivity and a smile. You are motivating me daily as I watch you motivate our community. To my Instructors, you are the heart of the community. So many hugs (at a six foot distance, of course).
I just made a post on the member page for “Monday Motivation”. Reminding our members that they can choose to focus on what they can’t do or to focus on what they can do. I am focusing on what I can do today and moving forward. Our Sisterhood is going to come out of this stronger than ever. Maybe someday I’ll post the blog I wrote about what it’s truly like being a small business owner right now with all the fear and uncertainty. But what I’ve come to realize in the last week is that I don’t own a small business, I lead an amazing community of strong, kind, caring women. I am so very blessed to be part of Aerial Dance. Thank you to every woman who is part of this Sisterhood.