Coronavirus and Programming Update

Saturday, March 14, 2020

Dear Commonwealth Club Members and Friends:

We hope you are doing well despite the coronavirus crisis and taking all necessary precautions to protect your health and that of those around you.

In light of the continued need to prevent contagion, the Club is cancelling or postponing all its in-person programs through April 30. We will announce all rescheduled dates as soon as possible, and all tickets purchased for currently scheduled programs will be honored at the new dates.

We are very excited that the Club’s programming is continuing through virtual online methods.

A number of you tuned in this past Wednesday to the Club’s first all-digital, interactive program, with White House Correspondent Kenneth Walsh addressing "Presidential Leadership in Crisis," in conversation with George Hammond. Listen to the podcast or watch the video.

Next up, on Wednesday, March 18, will be a special digital town hall program, "Combatting Coronavirus in Our Communities: What Works, Why Now?" We will be taking a look at the measures practiced by countries such as Taiwan and Singapore, which have avoided large outbreaks, and what we can learn from them. The program is free, and you can register on our website. Instructions for participating in the program, which includes the opportunity to ask live questions, will be sent to registrees before the program.  

Please watch the Club’s website and future emails for listings of upcoming digital programs; the next few programs are listed in the sidebar in this page.

As our programming becomes free online, to support our ongoing costs we have a donation option listed on the registration page, and we will deeply appreciate your generosity if you are able to support the Club. There is also a general donation page for the Club, to help us through this difficult time, when the program and private event rental income on which the Club depends has dropped to zero and we have had to postpone our annual fundraising gala. We will be grateful for your donations. 

The April/May edition of the Club’s magazine, The Commonwealth, will be published digitally and members will receive a link to your copy in about a week. 

If you aren’t a member, please consider joining the Club to receive all the benefits of membership. 

The Club’s radio broadcast will continue as always, on KQED and nationwide, with recently recorded programs. 

And please join the conversation on the Club’s Facebook page and our members’ LinkedIn page, where we will be discussing the current coronavirus epidemic, how it is changing our lives, the economic impact and more.

Stay well,
The Commonwealth Club