COVID-19 Response

Dear oSTEM Community,

 

The state of the world has changed very quickly in the last few weeks with the COVID-19 pandemic that is currently affecting us as global citizens. As the oSTEM community includes displaced members and affiliates from academic student chapters to international volunteers, it is important to address the specific needs of our community. 

Academic and professional chapters are the foundation of our global community. Community has often been defined by the value of in-person connections, but we understand that this pandemic is a public health risk threatening the connections forged in our community. Until further notice, we will cease all in-person oSTEM community events and meetings.

We recognize the need to prioritize the health and safety of our people while acknowledging the loss of community access due to social distancing. In the interim, it is our intention to optimize your oSTEM chapter experiences with support by transitioning to a fully online community.

We are committed to staying connected to our oSTEM members by moving our chapter interactions to a virtual setting in our oSTEM Squad Slack Community. This infographic includes the instructions you need to join and utilize our Slack workspace. 

We chose to cancel our Leadership Development Program in April in order to prioritize the health and well-being of our members, volunteers, and sponsors who were to attend. Our choice to cancel this event, instead of postponing, allows us to allocate event funds to an emergency relief fund for our community during this crucial time. 

  • If you are in need of emergency funding, please fill out our oSTEM Community Relief Emergency Fund Application. 

  • If you would like to financially contribute to this emergency fund, please consider making a donation through our oSTEM Donation Page. Thank you for contributing to this life-saving emergency fund!

  • If you are a student who was eligible to attend this year’s program, you will be given priority for attendance to next year’s program.

oSTEM COVID-19 Direct Response Resource Links

We know that this time in our lives is unprecedented, and we are committed to navigating it together as an oSTEM community. We value you as members, affiliates, and volunteers - knowing fully that YOU are what makes this oSTEM community great. We will continue to stay connected through this transition, as the strength of our community will help us along the way.

In addition to the resources we have addressed above, we are committed to addressing the various impacts our community faces currently, especially involving academics, mental health, and physical health.

Academic Impacts

We are witnessing university and college campuses closing with many classes going fully online for an undetermined amount of time. The uncertainty and stress of these changes to academic environments have an immense impact on our oSTEM community. For many of us, our academic environment is connected to our security around housing, food, and work. We are dedicated to providing resources for community mutual aid that is being organized in states across the country, including ones for the LGBTQIA+ community and impacted student populations.

Mental Health Impacts

Taking care of our mental health in the face of this public health crisis is a definite priority, especially as our collective anxiety increases worldwide. We recognize that everyone is feeling an overwhelming amount of stress, fear, and uncertainty with the rapidly changing situation developing through our 24/7 news cycle. We are standing together as a community to support our oSTEM community members who are potentially struggling in new, unexpected ways during this time. Please remember to take care of your mental health, utilizing skill-sets around self-care practices. 

Physical Health Impacts

The focus on public health as an individual experience and as a community response is a global priority. We recognize that taking care of our physical health right now can include social distancing, self-quarantine, and self-isolation. Please prioritize your physical health by making sure to get enough rest and drinking enough water. This is our opportunity to unite in solidarity to significantly slow the spread of this virus so that we prevent the overwhelm of our medical systems. Please consider looking at these resources for extra support in taking care of your health and well-being.

We know that this time in our lives is unprecedented, and we are committed to navigating it together as an oSTEM community. We value you as members, affiliates, and volunteers - knowing fully that YOU are what makes this oSTEM community great. We will continue to stay connected through this transition, as the strength of our community will help us along the way.

In solidarity -

 
 

oSTEM