Community leaders encourage supporting local businesses
The port authority, chamber of commerce and local Ohio Means Jobs office are working together to develop resources to help businesses and employees impacted by COVID-19.
“The three of us are meeting daily and have discussions to make sure we are all in the loop of how to best help our community,” said Amy Crown, executive director of the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce.
She added that the Port Authority and Chamber put together a list of resources they are sharing online and Sherri Gibson from Ohio Means Jobs Coshocton County is dealing with many, many calls.
“We are staying connected and tacking this together,” said Tiffany Swigert, executive director of the Coshocton Port Authority. “More than anything, we want our community to know that we are working hard for them.”
The community as a whole also can help by sharing businesses’ posts on social media.
“I am sharing each day as many local posts as we can,” Crown said. “Our analytics is really high, so I know the posts are working. Each day this past week I shared one way to help a business or the community.”
She emphasized the importance of staying local, buying local and supporting one another.
“There will be resources available and more to come,” Crown said. “So many are faced with uncertain times right now, but they can help. I shared a bingo game on the chamber’s Facebook page that shows how a person can help without spending a lot of money. Try to stay positive and know that we will all get through this together and Coshocton is a giving community with many wanting to help in different ways.”
Swigert agreed with Crown’s thoughts.
“We do have the ability to show up and help our local businesses in various ways right now,” Swigert said. “Grab a great take out meal for your family. Support your local specialty stores. Purchase gift cards for later use or for gifts for others. Push out information for our local businesses on social media so others see them too.”
She also said they are working to open up some revolving loan funding to local businesses for recovery efforts.
“We are working at a state level to obtain permission to do so,” Swigert said. “They do appear supportive. We hope to have confirmation within a few days. In the meantime, we are developing those plans in anticipation that it is going to be approved. As soon as we are able we will share the specifics. We will want to get this in as many hands as possible and quickly. We are pushing out information from the federal, state and regional sources as soon as we get them. Our website www.coshoctonportauthority.com is updated daily. We are also then pushing out information on social media. The federal sources are listed on our website and the state sources are still being developed and will likely be announced soon.”
Gibson said Ohio Means Jobs also has been busy providing resources and information to displaced workers.
“Here at Ohio Means Jobs, we have turned to social media, specifically Facebook, to share information quickly,” she said. “In addition to our usual job postings, our Ohio Means Jobs – Coshocton County Facebook page now has a link to the valuable COVID-19 Response Resources page developed by Tiffany and Amy, unemployment benefit information including the mass layoff number to expedite your claim, the coveted password reset phone number, and information from the Coshocton Public Library about free Wi-Fi. We also continue to share information about temporary positions, walk-in interviews, and on-the-spot offers. The entire Ohio Means Job staff is working hard to help sort through these unique employment issues.”
Category: People & Places
