Page 4 - EMBERS 2020 Annual Report

Letter from the CEO
Dear Friends,
2020 was a year we’ll never forget – a landmark year. At the end of February, we heard of a deadly corona virus spreading across continents which, by mid-March, was declared a global pandemic. Overnight, individuals lives, jobs, organizations, and businesses, were thrown into chaos and a state of uncertainty as we worried about our futures, how to keep our organizations operating, how to stay safe. EMBERS was no exception. COVID 19 was the defining feature for EMBERS 2020.
And yet, EMBERS thrived despite this terrible crisis, which continues into 2021. Operationally, we developed new protocols aimed at reducing face to face interactions. Plexiglass barriers were installed to protect front office staff. Bagged lunches replaced open table snacks. Eastside Works’ drop-ins were replaced by appointments. EMBERS Staffing cheques were delivered to workers on sites to reduce the flow of traffic in the offices. The emphasis shifted to pre-placing workers on jobs the day before, rather than in the morning from a gathering of workers in our offices. Masks, social distancing, sanitization, and temperature checking, became the norm. Those who could, worked from home. Zoom meetings kept us connected. Like the
rest of the world, we found new ways to keep going.
We more than kept going... one of the main highlights for 2020 was EMBERS Staffing Solutions winning the prestigious national Governor General’s Innovation Award, following on the heels of winning the Wendy McDonald Diversity Award, from the Vancouver Board of Trade. EMBERS gained wide recognition in 2020 for its community impact. There was a silver lining for EMBERS in the dark pandemic cloud. EMBERS Eastside Works expanded its peer work programs as governments targeted emergency funds for the Downtown Eastside to help keep residents and front line workers safe, given the overcrowding in single room occupancies and shelters where so many residents reside.
In the pages following I invite you to read about more highlights, insights and impacts of our organization in 2020.
Marcia Nozick
Founder & CEO
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