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!
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)
