AFS FitFam Coronavirus Fund
Donation protected
SEE OUR UPDATES ON THE BOTTOM OF THIS STORY!
As we all do our best to cope with the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic, life as we know it has changed immensely in just a few short days. On Monday, March 16th Governor Whitmer announced a mandatory closure of all places of public gathering including restaurants, bars, and fitness centers. It's important to note that we are in full support of whatever mandates our local and national governing bodies put in place. Beyond any economic threat, at AFS we’re fully aware that the big picture game we should all be playing is saving lives by adhering to CDC recommendations and limiting contact.
At the time of Governor Whitmer’s mandate, AFS did not foresee this level of a shutdown coming. At that time we were more so preparing to be open, but to have greatly reduced occupancy. As time has gone on, all indications we're seeing is that this closure (especially in our industry) will be extended beyond the original expiration of March 31st. As that date approaches, we as a team have had to make some very difficult decisions. The kind no leader wants to make.
On April 1st a membership auto payment is scheduled to be extracted from all AFS member accounts. We (as a company) have decided NOT to process any auto payment if the shutdown is extended. This means there will be NO fees deducted whether you're engaging with our online community or not if the shutdown continues. This same stance will be taken if the shutdown is extended into May. We feel that the very reason we've gotten the support we've gotten from our community is that we've always tried our best to put the greater good ahead of our own. So even though our survival as an entity is in question, this is not the time to change who we are. We're certain there are a good number of AFS members who are facing a financial hardship right now and extracting those funds, if our facilities are closed, is simply not an option.
We're currently working with all of our creditors and the banks to defer payments and try to access any funding available. The reality is the funding we need so immediately simply isn't there right now. Regardless of the financial impact on our business, the true outcome of the decision to not charge our 4/1 autopay means we cannot pay anyone on staff. Our entire team (leadership included) has been effectively "laid off" indefinitely and everyone is working on getting on unemployment now.
Not surprisingly, our team has been resilient, focused, and service oriented throughout this entire process, and laying everyone off won’t be changing that. Although we all just got "fired," our volunteer workforce is going to continue to do everything we can to continue to serve you how we’ve been throughout the start of this crisis. Practitioners will continue to work with their clients virtually (prescribing workouts and doing meetings. Our entire remaining volunteer team will keep the online Facebook Virtual Hub humming for as long as possible.
**UPDATE #1: We reached our first threshold of $50,000! In a DAY! When we set up this page, we had no idea what the outcome would be and honestly, we felt really bad putting a goal that directly reflects what our monthly payroll cost is because it's high. AFS' monthly payroll cost is $155,000 and we will continue adjusting our goal as we go along. We are overwhelmed with the support we've received thus far, it's truly been incredible! We love you all!
**UPDATE #2 4/3/2019: Our community came out in droves to support our employees in the months of March and April and we're so excited that in addition to that, the federal government has stepped up and is providing more than adequate compensation to our team (full paychecks covered AND then some). Knowing our people are taken care of is truly the number 1 priority for AFS and we've breathed a huge sigh of relief as this has unfolded this past week. With the $85,000 you all have contributed AND the unemployment benefits, our team is good!!
With those developments, we've now shifted our focus to the business itself. We've applied for the PPP, the EIDL, and every grant we can find, but so have all of the other small businesses (rightfully so) and the time frame in which this monetary relief is coming is COMPLETELY up in the air. We've put off as many bills as we can, but our accrued April and May expenses that we were unable to get deferred total $184,000 (keep in mind this is a 3 facility total which is why that's a high number) so that becomes our new target. Do we expect our community to cover this entire thing? Absolutely not. Every little bit helps us to stick around when this thing ends.
With gratitude, humility, and love,
The AFS Family
#SmallBusinessRelief
As we all do our best to cope with the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic, life as we know it has changed immensely in just a few short days. On Monday, March 16th Governor Whitmer announced a mandatory closure of all places of public gathering including restaurants, bars, and fitness centers. It's important to note that we are in full support of whatever mandates our local and national governing bodies put in place. Beyond any economic threat, at AFS we’re fully aware that the big picture game we should all be playing is saving lives by adhering to CDC recommendations and limiting contact.
At the time of Governor Whitmer’s mandate, AFS did not foresee this level of a shutdown coming. At that time we were more so preparing to be open, but to have greatly reduced occupancy. As time has gone on, all indications we're seeing is that this closure (especially in our industry) will be extended beyond the original expiration of March 31st. As that date approaches, we as a team have had to make some very difficult decisions. The kind no leader wants to make.
On April 1st a membership auto payment is scheduled to be extracted from all AFS member accounts. We (as a company) have decided NOT to process any auto payment if the shutdown is extended. This means there will be NO fees deducted whether you're engaging with our online community or not if the shutdown continues. This same stance will be taken if the shutdown is extended into May. We feel that the very reason we've gotten the support we've gotten from our community is that we've always tried our best to put the greater good ahead of our own. So even though our survival as an entity is in question, this is not the time to change who we are. We're certain there are a good number of AFS members who are facing a financial hardship right now and extracting those funds, if our facilities are closed, is simply not an option.
We're currently working with all of our creditors and the banks to defer payments and try to access any funding available. The reality is the funding we need so immediately simply isn't there right now. Regardless of the financial impact on our business, the true outcome of the decision to not charge our 4/1 autopay means we cannot pay anyone on staff. Our entire team (leadership included) has been effectively "laid off" indefinitely and everyone is working on getting on unemployment now.
Not surprisingly, our team has been resilient, focused, and service oriented throughout this entire process, and laying everyone off won’t be changing that. Although we all just got "fired," our volunteer workforce is going to continue to do everything we can to continue to serve you how we’ve been throughout the start of this crisis. Practitioners will continue to work with their clients virtually (prescribing workouts and doing meetings. Our entire remaining volunteer team will keep the online Facebook Virtual Hub humming for as long as possible.
**UPDATE #1: We reached our first threshold of $50,000! In a DAY! When we set up this page, we had no idea what the outcome would be and honestly, we felt really bad putting a goal that directly reflects what our monthly payroll cost is because it's high. AFS' monthly payroll cost is $155,000 and we will continue adjusting our goal as we go along. We are overwhelmed with the support we've received thus far, it's truly been incredible! We love you all!
**UPDATE #2 4/3/2019: Our community came out in droves to support our employees in the months of March and April and we're so excited that in addition to that, the federal government has stepped up and is providing more than adequate compensation to our team (full paychecks covered AND then some). Knowing our people are taken care of is truly the number 1 priority for AFS and we've breathed a huge sigh of relief as this has unfolded this past week. With the $85,000 you all have contributed AND the unemployment benefits, our team is good!!
With those developments, we've now shifted our focus to the business itself. We've applied for the PPP, the EIDL, and every grant we can find, but so have all of the other small businesses (rightfully so) and the time frame in which this monetary relief is coming is COMPLETELY up in the air. We've put off as many bills as we can, but our accrued April and May expenses that we were unable to get deferred total $184,000 (keep in mind this is a 3 facility total which is why that's a high number) so that becomes our new target. Do we expect our community to cover this entire thing? Absolutely not. Every little bit helps us to stick around when this thing ends.
With gratitude, humility, and love,
The AFS Family
#SmallBusinessRelief
Organizer and beneficiary
Nate Langley
Organizer
Rochester, MI
Mike Stack
Beneficiary
