Work at CSI for the day with our new Lounge Pass!

CSI Supports: How we’re moving our rituals online

Pearl Leung

Pearl Leung

Digital Marketing Specialist

One of the most difficult parts of staying at home is being unable to see everyone’s lovely faces. Whether it was bonding over bagels, making friends with salad (yes, it is possible!), or just smiling at each other as we walked through the halls, the positivity inside the CSI buildings has always been energizing!

As Tara, our CSI Annex Community Animator, put it: “At a time like this, where we are distancing physically, community becomes more important than ever.”

Of course, CSI was built to bring people together — and our team has been working especially hard over the past week and a half to move that special sense of community online.

This new method of convening has its upsides, too. We just had our first virtual Salad Club, with members, DECAs, and staff across all three CSI locations. It was an opportunity to see familiar faces and make new friends!

CSI's first ever Virtual Salad Club, on April 1 2020

 

Zoom has proven to be a versatile tool. Just like how we would normally grab our salad and sit down at a table, we broke out into smaller groups to chat about how we’re adjusting to this new way of life.

In the last fifteen minutes of the lunch hour, we were brought back together, where we shared the meat (haha) of our breakout group conversations.

By the time we signed off, we were all in high spirits. It was like that special CSI energy found its way into each of our homes.


We’ve got a bunch of virtual rituals and events planned in the coming weeks as we continue to navigate through this strange time together! Every Monday, we’ll host a quick check-in to do a gut check and some goal-setting. Friday evenings will be reserved for a small toast to celebrate getting through the week!

Visit our Programming Calendar to see what’s next, and check out our full list of CSI Supports here.


(Header photo: Sammy Tangir)

Keep Reading
whai header
CSI is many things - a coworking space, a non-profit organization, and a launchpad - but, first and foremost, we are a community. A community of innovators, of changemakers, of neighbours, of people putting people and planet first. And the awesome work that our members do, each and every day, never ceases to amaze us! So of course, we do our best to highlight our members whenever possible. Recently, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Molly Bannerman, Director of Women HIV/Aids Initiative (WHAI), a community-based response to HIV and AIDS among cis and trans women in Ontario. Below is an edited summary of our chat, where we discussed the work of WHAI and their latest Collective Action Community Change report.
Canadian Innovation Week Banner
It's Canadian Innovation Week 2023! This year, we're celebrating with our members and highlighting the world changing work that they do. We're spotlighting just a few of our thousands of members here in the themes of Canadian Innovation Week 2023 - be sure to come by our spaces or join our community to meet the rest of our innovators!
climate header2
Generally, when we see or hear media about climate change, we’re faced with images of destruction: natural disasters, crumbling infrastructure, rising global temperatures and falling levels of polar ice. And sadly, those are all realities - but there’s another reality, too. The communities coming together to envision, work for, and implement a better and brighter future. To close out Earth Month, we spoke to two people in our community about the role that connection, art, and joy play in the climate sector.
Become A Member