2020 In Review

It was almost a year ago today, that the first Covid case reached our shores here in the US. It was almost a year ago today that we heard the news of the tragic loss of Kobe Bryant and 8 other souls. It was almost a year ago today that the House of Representatives introduced articles of Impeachment to the United States Senate. 

All those things, only a year removed, in some ways feel like a lifetime. 2020 was a year for the ages. A year ago, we here at Dathouse had big plans. Plans to open The Loft co-working space in the summer, plans to expand our Datkids after school program. Plans to hire more staff. Plans to stretch Lincoln Lane Coffee. Plans to….. All of which were either delayed or canceled. 

Last year was tough. But, nobody needs to tell anyone that. We were all there. For some it was tougher than others. Some of us made it to 2021, while others didn’t. For those who lost loved ones due to the chaos of 2020, we are deeply sorry and mourn with you. 

While things around the world and at Dathouse didn’t go as planned last year, we were able to adjust our strategy and keep moving forward, working in whatever way we could to continue to accomplish our mission of  being a leader and catalyst in fostering a healthy community. We created online forums to stay connected to our after school families.  We coordinated with and delivered needed goods to members of our community. We helped our 2 neighborhood schools raise funds and get access to all the devices they needed to shift into this virtual pandemic learning atmosphere. We were able to take a small group of neighborhood boys camping over the summer, and were able to be more exposed to and learn more about nature. We developed a new alternative school, starting in the fall of 2020, called DatKids Academy, to offer a homeschool “Cottage School” environment to further empower our families in choosing how to educate their kids. We kept working on The Loft whenever we could, and are poised to open any day! We upgraded our coffee shop to be available online. We made sure to spread out and keep our center open and safe so neighbors would still have SOMEWHERE to go, even if only for a short while. We stayed in constant communication with other neighborhood organizations and our schools and were ready to jump at any moment when needs arose, such as Christmas assistance, extra masks, groceries, etc.

Last year may have been exhausting and difficult, but it proved to us that when we come together as a community we can overcome ANYTHING! Our hope at Dathouse is that you’ll carry that tenacity into 2021. That as we slowly move back to “normal” (whenever that may happen in the hopefully near future), that you’ll take time to think about what things are worth going back to and what things restore your soul.  A question we ask ourselves a lot is, “Is this decision best for myself and my community?” And if it is, GREAT! Let’s do it! Let’s start this next year by being loving and humble servants of one another. Let’s start by taking care of ourselves and others. Let’s start by looking for new and improved ways to love our neighbors, not because we’re forced to, like last year, but because we GET to! And above all, let’s Keep Moving Forward.