SHOP CLOSURE: Twin Cities Maker, at its core, is a community. In the interest of that community and the public at large, from 11:59 PM on Sunday, March 22nd through Sunday, March 29th, we will be closing our shop to any work on personal projects and asking that people only come in to pick up personal items (see below). From 11:59 PM on Sunday, March 29th to Monday, April 13th we will be temporarily closing our shop to all members. This decision was difficult to make, and we hope that our members understand the importance of doing our part to slow the spread of COVID-19. Here’s what you need to know about the temporary closure:
11:59 PM SUNDAY, MARCH 23rd: The shop is closed to members working on projects. In order to facilitate members removing any materials they would like to bring home for doing project work while practicing social distancing (or potential shelter in place order) we are allowing members to sign up on this spreadsheet TC Maker – Project Storage Retrieval Schedule – COVID19 for 1 hour time blocks to grab their stuff. We are limiting the number of people in the shop to 10 people at a time. Please limit yourself to your one hour slot that you have signed up for.
Twin Cities Maker is not authorizing the removal of ANY tools owned by the organization for use at home. Please do not take any Twin Cities Maker property home with you. This is for insurance purposes as well as inventory tracking.
11:59 PM SUNDAY, MARCH 29th: All access to the shop will be closed. Key fobs will be disabled for the duration of the closure and will be turned back on when the shop opens again.
ALL CLASSES AND EVENTS from March 23rd to April 13th (or for however long the facility is closed) will be cancelled. Students already signed up for these classes will receive a full refund.
ON MONDAY, APRIL 13th: The board is keeping an eye on the situation. We hope that the shop will only be closed for a few weeks. On or around April 13th we will decide whether to reopen the shop or remain closed for a longer duration. Updates will be sent out as we know more.
MEMBERSHIPS: We hope that many of you will show your support for our community by continuing your membership with Twin Cities Maker through this temporary shop closure. By doing so, you help ensure that this amazing organization will last through the ages (and that we continue to pay rent in the interim). If you can continue paying dues, we urge you to do so. For those who maintain their membership through these hard times, we are also offering one free month of membership, upon request, when we reopen the Hack Factory.
We are also aware that COVID-19 may be impacting some of you financially, and will offer refunds of March memberships upon request for those who are experiencing financial hardship. For March refund requests, please email: covidrefund@tcmaker.org. Depending on the volume of requests, it may take some time to process them.
NOW WHAT?!?!?! While our facilities may be closed, the Twin Cities Maker community remains alive and well. We’ll be utilizing (and sometimes experimenting with) some ways to reach out in virtual. Look for blog posts on projects people are working on at home. Connect on Facebook, Google, and Slack (email slack@tcmaker.org to request an invite to our slack channel — spots are somewhat limited). Some shop managers are looking into using video conferencing to host tutorials and interest groups in virtual. Look for emails containing information.
We hope to be seeing you all before too long.
– President Becca –
