It’s official…
#CoViD-19 has cancelled the Lead Safe Mama Spring 2020 travel schedule!
I apologize to those who have been waiting for this update for a few weeks now; I am just so sad to have to write this that I have been putting off writing it to the very last moment — hoping against hope, right up to the end, that I might not have to — until it was long-past obvious that there was, realistically, no responsible way to visit anybody in the midst of the #ZombieApocalypse!
In late March of 2020, I was scheduled to leave home, and to be gone for most of April — criss-crossing the United States (to all of the locations noted in the image above) doing outreach events in communities…teaching classes to students of all ages, and helping families, in-person, one-on-one all across the country. Throughout this time I was waiting for the very last minute before accepting the inevitable decision to cancel everything (vs. merely rescheduling all of the events – for May or June [only to possibly have to reschedule them yet again down the road if we were still in a collective state of national limbo]). Then – a couple of days ago – the airline really made that decision for me — by cancelling my flight out of town for later this week!
The most important thing for me to do (especially as an advocate for children’s health) is to do whatever it takes to keep YOU healthy! Especially if YOU were going to come to one of my events in March or April or May, I wouldn’t want my travel (through so many airports!) to risk making YOU or anyone in your family sick. So for me this has been a “wait and see” game… as to when things seem likely to “get better” and “go back to [some new alternative version of] normal” — to the degree that this will even be possible in the reasonably near future.
What’s the plan, Stan?
With the cancellation [by the airline!] of my last outgoing flight this past week, I have formulated a new tentative “Contingency Plan B” for a series of June / July 2020 Lead Safe Mama events, to replace the cancelled events from Spring 2020 [subject, of course, to “how things are going”, according to the most up-to-date official public health guidance as we move along the national projected timeline of this global crisis]. This plan has been created (hatched?) and specifically designed to significantly limit my exposure to people (and they to me) other than those who are participating in – or hosting – one of my public events, classes or home consultations (implementing social distancing & PPE as necessary!)
The new plan is to drive cross-country in an R.V. (likely in June and July) to towns across America – with the folks who had already scheduled and confirmed for the Spring being the key factor in deciding the “must visit” towns on this cross country trip. In this way, I will not have to fly on any planes or hang around any airports – and can keep to myself to a large degree (with my children) on the road… yet still really enjoy the cross-country trip seeing and helping so many of you directly and in person and hopefully line up a few more home consultations and events along the way once we have the preliminary route mapped out!
What do you think?! Waiting to leave until June will also give me time to complete all of the product reporting that I have in my queue that I am behind on (we would basically plan on leaving town the moment I am done with that!)
Were you hosting or coming to an event this Spring?
What now?
Were you hosting or participating in a Lead Safe Mama event during this (now-cancelled) Spring travel itinerary? If so, read on regarding your options moving forward. In making your choice, I invite you to consider that right as things were finally going unprecedentedly well, Lead Safe Mama, LLC’s income in March dropped below 20% of what it was last year at this time [and to about 18% of what it was in December], since the start of #CoViD-19 panic. As a result, while complete cancellations are an option [and my full refund policy will be honored], your thoughtful consideration of any options other than a full refund and cancellation at this time would be greatly appreciated.
Option #1) Reschedule
… for some point in the future (perhaps summer 2020?)
- You can simply choose a new date on the cross country Lead Safe Mama R.V. tour for the summer (assuming it goes ahead) or for my “as scheduled” (not canceled as of this time) trip for October 2020 (October calendar below).
- I will work on a map and proposed timeline for the summer this week and will get you a date range for your area as soon as the trip is more fleshed out.
- If you choose to go with October you can just pick a new date now and I will build my trip around your schedule (first come first served)
- Or – as I am hereby extending my normal rescheduling policy for an extra year, you have the option to reschedule – at no extra charge – for anytime [any mutually- agreeable date, based on my travel to your area] in 24 months from your originally-scheduled event.
Continue reading below the image of the Calendar…
Click either of the images below to get to the related refund policy…
Option #2) Cancel?… for a full refund
- My refund policy stands and is linked both here – and, as always, in the footer on every page of the website.
- As the cancellation of the Spring events was out of – all of – our hands (both yours and mine) the “two weeks notice for cancellation” part of the refund policy does not apply.
- If you do request a refund, please do so by sending me an e-mail with Refund Request in the subject (mail to: TamaraRubin@mac.com), and please remind me of your city and state, your original event date, and the method by which you paid.
- Depending on the type of event or consultation, various parts of my published refund policy give a time period for a refund of between 4 and 8 weeks from the date of your refund request. This part of the policy is necessary as, if you gave a deposit to hold your date, the funds you paid in advance were more-often-than-not used to purchase the flights to come to your area (and to cover other related expenses for the trip). I will do my best to honor that policy (make sure the refunds are sent your way with the promised time-frame), even under the current extraordinary circumstances…
- Note Re: Flight Cancellations & Cashflow: Unfortunately, all of my flights were non-refundable. They are (thankfully!) reusable – so I will be able to use the credits for flights in the future, but the cancellation of the flights does not give me access to funds to immediately give you your refund. Instead, your refund at this time will need to come out of my advertising income – paid in the week between the 29th and the 5th each month.
Option #3) Phone consultions / Zoom consultations
- Depending on the size of your credit, you are welcome to alternately use your credit for scheduling time with me for one or more one-on-one phone consultations or other consultations/ product evaluations, etc. (on a project or concept related to childhood Lead poisoning and Lead poisoning prevention.) [If you choose this option your credit will not have an expiration date.]
Option #4) Send in a box? or dishes…
- You can send me a box of items to test (with the number of items determined by the size of your credit.) More details here.
- Use your credit for friends to send in their dishes for testing (as a gift from you to them!) $25.00 per dish (+ return shipping) tested and reported on the blog. More details here.
Option #5) Donate your credit to a family in need
- Let me know if you would like to donate your credit for me to apply towards the cost of a one-on-one home visit with a low-income family in need. Folks have done this before, and it has worked out really nicely.
- My cost for a home visit in most areas of the country is between $900 and $1,200 (depending on the location / how far I have to travel / how long a visit the family would like to have).
- If you do want to donate to a family, you can stay in touch and I can let you know when I find a family asking for assistance.
- I will also create a page where we can track donations for specific families, in case other people want to donate to help the same family (this is to cover my costs to travel to them almost anywhere in the United States – within a 3-hour drive of a major metropolitan airport).
If you have other ideas, I am open to hearing all of them!
To those who were hosting / participating in events this Spring, thank you for your patience with me (it took me a while to really admit/reconcile to myself that none of this was going to happen!)
To others reading this post: if you want to pre-pay for an event in the next year – just as a way to support my business during this time, that would be amazing!
Stay safe, stay healthy! Thank you to each of you for supporting my advocacy work.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Mindy Allen says
Hey old friend! Hope you are staying safe and well! I would love to catch up if you can. Found an old bag cleaning out garage filled with lead tests, LSA buttons and a note and thought of you of course…
Tamara says
Oh I love hearing this! Thanks for commenting. Will call for sure. Miss you. Been thinking about you!
Tamara
Mindy D Allen says
sorry Tamara! I just realized to post and need not to post that comment. 🙂 just was using to reconnect with you.
Meg says
I’m wanting to buy a kitchen tabletop sprouter so that I can have fresh sprouts of various kinds: alfalfa sprouts, clover sprouts, mung bean sprouts, etc., but I don’t want to buy one that has lead or other toxins. On the website “SproutPeople” they have a few different types, as well as the websites West Coast Seeds in their “Sprouting” section. Some look like a large Ball jar with either a metal or plastic mesh screen on a screw-on lid. Others are three round plastic clear trays that stack on each other. Others look like a movie theatre cup made of slightly opaque plastic (The Easy Sprout). Others look like they are made of silicone and metal. Have you tested a sprouter before? I tried searching your website but I didn’t find any post. Any advice?