March 26, 2020
Dear Altius Families –
We hope this email finds you safe and healthy. While it’s nice to spend time with loved ones and get some projects around the house done, we really miss coaching your kids! In the meantime, check out the growing library of free videos on our YouTube channel. Our goal is to give you as many gymnastics ideas as possible to break up the day and keep your kids active!
We’d like to extend a sincere thank you to everyone who has paid tuition, signed up for the summer session, or purchased a $99 party over the past week. Your generosity is helping us hold on as we wait for the stimulus bill details to emerge. In the interim, we are working with our landlord and creditors to keep expenses as low as possible. Please continue to support Altius anyway you can, both financially and interacting with us on social media.
Beginning March 30 and extending to when we can reopen, Altius will be issuing rolling account credits for any paid tuition. All accounts will be considered on hold. Please review the details below. If you are in a financial position to do so, please consider paying any portion of April tuition by logging into the customer portal – your account will be credited for when we are able to resume classes.
Enrollment Holds / Program Withdrawals
· You do not need to contact us to put a hold on your enrollment. There is no tuition payment due until Altius can re-open.
· If you do not plan on attending classes when Altius is able to re-open, please send a drop request to altius@altiusgym.com or message us through your customer portal. Please include:
o Your child’s first and last name
o If you paid April tuition, indicate if you would like an account credit for use in summer or next school year, or a refund.
Rolling April Tuition Credits
· See our original March & April billing calendar dates HERE.
· Monday through Thursday customers will be credited for 2 weeks of tuition, covering the dates from March 30 through April 9.
· Friday and Saturday customers will be credited for 1 week of April tuition, covering the dates of April 3 and 4.
· If we are unable to open April 13, we will continue to extend rolling credit to unused April tuition.
· Altius will not be issuing statements for May tuition until it becomes clear that we will be able to operate. Unused April tuition will be applied to May or future enrollments.
Day you attend class |
1st Credited Date |
2nd Credited Date |
Monday |
3/30 |
4/6 |
Tuesday |
3/31 |
4/7 |
Wednesday |
4/1 |
4/8 |
Thursday |
4/2 |
4/9 |
Friday |
4/3 |
Closed – Not billed |
Saturday |
4/4 |
Closed – Not billed |
We are taking everything one day a time, and we can’t wait to open the gym and welcome everyone back. In the meantime, be kind, be active, and stay safe!
Sincerely,
Altius Gymnastics
March 19, 2020
Dear Altius Families –
Doesn’t it feel like it’s been a lifetime since last Saturday, yet each day seems to move at a snail’s pace? We are definitely missing the positive energy of being at Altius and coaching all our students – from 1 year old Sparks to our highest level teams - we really miss you!
All our decisions are made with the goal of getting back to gymnastics as safely and quickly as possible. No one has been in the gym since Monday to make sure any live viruses die before we start cleaning and producing some social media content. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we move forward.
Here’s our plan for now, optimistically assuming we will be able to re-open at some point between March 30 and mid-April. To be candid, we need a portion of April tuition to keep the gym viable. We know everyone has a close eye on family budgets; if you can pay, it’s greatly appreciated; if you are not in a position to pay April tuition, we understand. Please consider helping in other ways.
Autocharges and April Tuition
March Class Make Ups & League Credits
Ways to support Altius and other small businesses
1. Stay enrolled!
This too shall pass…by staying enrolled you’re helping us plan for the future and re-opening with the correct budget in mind.
2. Stay engaged
We are kicking off our Strive Higher Challenge (#strivehigherchallenge) today on Facebook and Instagram. Please start following us and sharing our content if you don’t already! We’ll be adding more original content next week.
3. Spread the word
Building on #2, every share and recommendation you make helps us re-build when this is over. As always, receive a $25 gift card when you refer a new family to Altius – simply have them add your name to the registration form.
3. Pay it forward (or back, we guess)
Altius donates about 100 parties a year to various organizations. If your organization has benefitted from a donation, please keep us in mind in the future!
4a. Sign up for summer by April 15
4b. Sign up for next school year
20-21 School Year enrollment will open in May. Same concept as above. Any un-used tuition from April onward will be credited to future enrollments and classes.
5. Plan a birthday party at Altius!
We are dropping our party price to $99 for ten children (regular $189). Book a summer of fall party and pay $99 now to help support Altius when we need it most!
MOST IMPORTANTLY…
6. Do your part to socially distance and flatten the curve. Follow (and consider doing even more) than all federal, state, and local guidelines regarding COVID-19. We are all in this together!
Again, many thanks for your support. We know this is a stressful and anxious time for everyone, BUT we also know that if anyone knows how to handle stress, it’s a gymnast (or gymnastics parent!). Getting through this is going to take balance, flexibility, strength, coordination, and perhaps most of all, grace.
Sincerely,
Mike Robb - President
March 16, 2020
Dear Altius Families,
At this point in time, we are hopeful that the preventative measure of closing schools and businesses will successfully help “flatten the curve” and Altius will be able to re-open for some form of business on March 30. As a small business, we are concerned about our ability to pay our employees, meet our financial obligations, and generally weather the storm so there is an Altius to come back to. We are also aware that some of our customers are in the same boat; worried about their household finances and extremely nervous about what the next few months may bring.
Here’s our plan for now, optimistically assuming we will be able to re-open at some point between March 30 and mid-April;
March Class & Team Make Ups
Autocharges and April Tuition
Ways to support Altius (and other local businesses) if you can:
1. Stay enrolled! This too shall pass…by staying enrolled you’re keeping your spot in class and helping us plan for re-opening with the correct budget and staffing in mind.
2a. Sign up for summer; we are still accepting enrolling for summer BUT are changing our early sign up discount. You can elect to pay 50% now and 50% at the end of June and still receive the 20% discount. Enrolling early helps us plan and gives us extra capital to make it through the next few weeks.
2b. Sign up for next school year when we open enrollment in May. Same concept as above.
3. Interact with and share our posts on social media. We want to stay in touch and help keep your kids active! Watch our social media platforms and your emails for at-home gymnastics activities, strength challenges, flexibility work, routines, and more!
4. Recommend Altius to your friends; help us come back better than ever. Receive a $25 gift card when your refer a new family to Altius!
MOST IMPORTANTLY…
5. Do your part to socially distance and flatten the curve. Follow (and consider doing even more than recommended) all federal, state, and local guidelines regarding COVID-19. We are all in this together!
Altius is adjusting to this crisis on a day-to-day, and sometimes hour-by-hour basis. We will continue to update our plans as needed. If it becomes clear we are unable to open in mid-April, we will extend credits into future months for unused tuition.
Altius will not have regular office hours between March 16 and March 29. We will be checking phone messages and answering emails daily. Please conduct business through the customer portal if possible.
Thank you again,
Mike Robb – President
& the Altius Staff
March 15, 2020
Dear Altius Families,
Altius is closing for all classes, special events, and team practices beginning Monday, March 16 through Sunday, March 30. With the announcement of the confirmed case in Franklin yesterday, it became abundantly clear that it is our social responsibility to close for the good of public health.
Please know that we did not come to this decision lightly and spent many hours considering alternate plans. We’ve been in consultation with other gym owners and staying up to date with the most current information from the CDC, WHO, and the Wisconsin Department of Health websites.
We’ll be reaching out to you in the coming days with options for making up missed classes and practices. We are also developing some online content to keep our students active at home over the next few weeks.
Again, we appreciate your support through this uncertain time.
Sincerely,
Mike Robb - President
Jill Damora, Brandon Robb, Lauren Robb, and Austin Robb - Directors
March 13, 2020
We will be holding classes and team practices as usual today and through the weekend; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 13 through 15. Altius coaches and staff will continue with increased cleaning and sanitation measures between class and event changeovers throughout the weekend. We ask that our customers follow CDC guidelines to keep community spaces safe use their best judgement when planning to come to Altius.
We will send an email on Sunday with plans for the beginning of next week based on the events of the weekend. Thank you to all our families Altius has served over the past 36 years. We are a family-run small business and we truly appreciate your loyalty and support over the next difficult weeks. Our goal while navigating this crisis is to keep everyone safe and maintain some sense of normalcy at the same time.
Sincerely, Mike Robb President – Altius Gymnastics
March 12, 2020
We have been closely following the WI Department of Health, CDC, and WHO on the spread of COVID-19. It’s clear that the situation is evolving on an hourly basis. Altius will continue to operate under WI Department of Health guidelines as we move through the next few challenging weeks. During a regular day, the number of people in Altius at one time does not exceed 250 so we will continue operations as normal at this time.
Since the beginning of March, Altius has been taking extra proactive measures to increase gym cleanliness and protect the health of our students, families, and staff.
Effective immediately, we are adding additional cleaning and preventative measures.
What can you do to help?
Altius will continue to adjust our response to the virus on a day-by-day, and if necessary, hour-by-hour basis. We will continue to update the Altius community via email and on our website.
Thank you for your patience and your support during this challenging and uncertain time.