Dickinson Hall News July August 2020 | Page 3

Manager’s Note - Please Read, Important Updates! All of the staff at Dickinson Hall and myself hope you and your families are doing well. We have missed you these past few months and are looking forward to welcoming you back as soon as it is safe to do so. Returning to a new normal is going to take a little longer for us as we find ways to safely gather and conduct our programming for a population that is at greater risk. While I understand there are some members that can’t wait to come back, I am sorry to say that Dickinson Hall will remain closed to the public through July and until it is deemed safe to gather again. I know that is not what you want to hear, but please know that it is not a decision that is made lightly. We continue to monitor the COVID-19 Pandemic with the IDPH and local health authorities, as well as the City of Lake Forest and Village of Lake Bluff. We will make modifications and adjustments to comply with Governor Pritzker’s Executive Orders and the Restore Illinois 5 Phase Plan. We will start having online lectures that will be open to everyone via Zoom. We have several great speakers lined up and will have a few Zoom Webinars and many Zoom Help Sessions for anyone who needs assistance. Advanced registration by phone is required for all programs. See below for more information regarding our virtual programming. As the overall situation changes we will have updates available to all. If you are receiving our “Newsbriefette” via email you will get updates there. If you do not currently receive the “Newsbriefette” via email and would like to, please call 847-234-2209 so we can update your information and you will begin receiving it. Otherwise we will mail updates when it is necessary for vital information. We are also working very hard to get our website www.dickinsonhall.com updated and more user friendly so you can check out the website for more information. We look forward to ‘seeing’ you soon! Tricia About Virtual Programming Log on. Participate. Thrive. Dickinson Hall is joining the digital age by offering our regular programming via Zoom. We’re hoping that this platform will help us stay connected to our members during this strange time. During this first phase of our virtual programming we will be offering all lectures free of charge. We know that some may not feel they are getting the same experience via online programming. Therefore, we’d like to offer you the opportunity to get a feel for this new way of programming and allow you to continue to participate. However, we are still incurring costs for these programs. If you would like to help cover costs you can donate to the program you are attending with our suggested donation of $5 per program. We hope that this encourages you to try out some things that you may not have normally tried, get comfortable using this new platform, and help make this opportunity available to as many people as we can. You will be required to register for each class in advance so that we can get the meeting links and passwords to all participants in advance of the class. Here’s how the typical registration process might go: 1. Call/email Dickinson Hall to register for classes. 2. The day before the class: You will receive an email from a Dickinson Hall staff member that will include the information needed to log into the class. 3. 10 Minutes before Class: Log into meeting to make sure that you don’t have any connection problems. Feel free to mingle with other members that have logged on early (when the opportunity allows, some programs will be in the webinar format and will not require a camera to connect.) Call 847.234.2209 if you are having ANY trouble logging on. We are here and ready to help you! 4. Event begins: presenters may mute participants in order to reduce distractions and enhance their ability to be heard. Use the participation buttons to ask questions and participate with the instructor directly. We will all get the hang of this and we hope that this new way of programming continues to serve our members! 3 ZOOM Meetings Live Webinar Wednesday, July 1, 11:30 am Thursday, July 2, 2:00 pm Free, No Registration Required So Dickinson Hall is going virtual? Hop on the bandwagon and get the lowdown on Zoom, that video chatting/meeting/learning system you’ve heard so much about. A Dickinson Hall staff member will walk you through the basics and show you how this easy to use social platform works! Both sessions will cover the same information, there is no need to attend both. Contact Dickinson Hall for the link. ZOOM One-on-One Help Wednesday, July 1 & Thursday, July 2 Registration required and appointments must be made in advance Have you downloaded Zoom and you’re not sure what to do with it yet? Sign up for a 30 minutes session and we’ll try to help get you using Zoom like a pro! While the above webinars are live, this is the place to ask those specific to you questions! Call Dickinson Hall at 847.234.2209 to reserve a spot today!