Homeless Children's Playtime Project
Assistance drafting letter objecting to cancelled MOU
The impact we seek is to be able to restore our partnership with this shelter and ultimately serve children there or collect damages to help us recover cost of investment in the partnership.
Posted July 21, 2020
Background & Context
This project is important because our organization partners in good faith with a variety of DC family homeless shelters to provide our impactful programming at little or no cost to the partner agencies. Each expansion to a new site partner involves 6 months of time and money to recruit, train and screen volunteers and staff, purchase supplies, and plan programming. We waived the suggested cost-share for this particular shelter partner that burned us and has since refused to meet with us to provide a reasonable explanation for pulling the plug on our partnership. This has costs us thousands of dollars, staff time, volunteer recruitment, etc. We believe we have a duty to stand up and defend ourselves against this mistreatment in hopes they will reconsider or pay us for our investment and not treat other partners in this way.
Immediate Problem
We are seeking an attorney to craft a demand letter for a damages incurred as a result of a breach of contract/MOU. Specifically, we agreed to deliver services, incurred costs associated with that deliverable, and then the opposing party cancelled the contract, without cause or notice, immediately before we were scheduled to deliver services, specifically programming at their site. While our true aim is deliver services/have a real partner and programming site, we at the very least demand to be made whole (or as close to whole) considering the amount of time, money and resources that went into this MOU.
Work & Deliverables
We need a lawyer to draft a letter to the agency that runs a particular family homeless shelter in D.C.
Preparation Phase
- We will provide all communication between parties and documented steps we invested in partnership.
Collaboration Phase
- We will discuss what we've tried and hear your advice about what we should ask for.
Wrap Up
- Review letter and agree on it's conclusion as a good strategy for our organization.
Homeless Children's Playtime Project
The mission of the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project (Playtime) is to cultivate resilience in children experiencing family homelessness by providing and expanding access to transformative play experiences. We do this by: - Creating ongoing play opportunities that nurture healthy child development - Challenging systemic injustice by advocating for policies and practices that reduce the risk of chronic homelessness - Connecting families with critical support services and supplies in the community to meet their concrete needs For the past 17 years, Playtime has set up play rooms in family homeless shelters in DC, filled them with toys and books and most importantly, trained and dedicated volunteers who commit to helping us run children's play programs one evening per week. We are currently partnered with 4 shelters and planned expansion to 2 more this year, but Covid foiled these plans. As we draft plans to eventually return to the playrooms with our 100 volunteers and 150 children, and our 12 staff make plans to return to the office, how can we anticipate liability concerns and plan accordingly?
Homeless Children's Playtime Project
The mission of the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project (Playtime) is to cultivate resilience in children experiencing family homelessness by providing and expanding access to transformative play experiences. We do this by: - Creating ongoing play opportunities that nurture healthy child development - Challenging systemic injustice by advocating for policies and practices that reduce the risk of chronic homelessness - Connecting families with critical support services and supplies in the community to meet their concrete needs For the past 17 years, Playtime has set up play rooms in family homeless shelters in DC, filled them with toys and books and most importantly, trained and dedicated volunteers who commit to helping us run children's play programs one evening per week. We are currently partnered with 4 shelters and planned expansion to 2 more this year, but Covid foiled these plans. As we draft plans to eventually return to the playrooms with our 100 volunteers and 150 children, and our 12 staff make plans to return to the office, how can we anticipate liability concerns and plan accordingly?