It was fabulous having so many of you, over 140 people, join us online for the January 27 Virtual Volunteer Business Meeting. During the Zoom webinar, the senior management team presented Hillwood’s new strategic plan, including updated goals and major projects for the next five years. The meeting concluded with a lively and informative Q&A session. To help you prepare for the year ahead, we wanted to share the business meeting video link, a reminder of Hillwood’s reopening dates, and our current plan for approaching on-site volunteer service.

Video Recording

The video of the volunteer business meeting is now available. The recording runs for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. We strongly recommend those who could not attend the virtual meeting to watch the recording. A friendly reminder that your volunteer guest passes will be mailed in early February.

Reopening Dates

Our current plan is to open to members only on Tuesday, February 16 and to the public on Tuesday, March 2. For both phases, we will continue to require advance reservations and limit capacity in the mansion. Be sure to visit Hillwood’s website to plan your visit and refresh yourself on the temporary visitor guidelines.

On-Campus Volunteering

Not surprisingly, a popular question during Wednesday’s meeting was inquiring when on-site volunteer service would return to Hillwood. While we all are eager to return to our regular operation, we do not have a date yet for on-site service. In that light, we wanted to share an update on how Hillwood provides a safe working environment for staff and what metrics we are considering for a safe return of on-site volunteer service.

Much of 2020 was dedicated to re-engineering our work practices and operations to institute social distancing best practices across campus. A crucial step in ensuring social distancing has been reducing the number of both staff and visitors on-site. Staff members who have roles that can be done remotely have been asked to work from home. Currently, 62% of Hillwood staff are working from home. The reduction of on-site staff has allowed us to repurpose offices and meeting spaces to spread out staff who must be on campus. The extra room has been critical in keeping our essential workers safe and supported.

As Hillwood looks ahead to when we can return to normal capacity and operations, including the safe return of on-site volunteer service, several factors will be taken into account, such as:

• Changes to visitation mandates. The mayor’s current DC mandate restricts visitation and does not allow guided tours.
• A reduction in community transmission and an increase in staff vaccinations. While we do not have a specific metric for a reduction in community spread, we are continuing to heed the guidelines and protocols dictated by the CDC and local government. Once we can decrease the social distancing requirements, Hillwood can increase our indoor spaces’ capacity and allow non-essential staff and volunteers back on-site.

We understand the slow pace of returning to normal may feel frustrating, and though we are all ready for this period to be behind us, our staff and volunteers’ safety remains our top priority. As we monitor the situation closely, we will continue to keep you abreast of any changes to our operational status. In the interim, Hillwood will also continue to offer our beloved volunteers safe engagement through virtual pilot programs, online educational offerings, and enhanced communications.

As always, we deeply appreciate your flexibility and understanding as we continue to adapt. We look forward to having you and the rest of the staff back on-site once it is safe to do so. Until then, please stay well and take care.