Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to providing resources, communication and advocacy to business community
By Brittney Sherman
Brittney Sherman
We have now officially completed four weeks of the shelter-in-place order with another two weeks to go, at least. This has been an extremely frustrating and emotional time for our businesses. Rest assured the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce has been and will continue to be dedicated to providing resources, communication and advocacy to our beloved business community.
In an effort to support our local restaurants we created the “Morgan Hill Takeout and Delivery Page” on March 17 which now has more than 2,900 followers. Restaurant operators are encouraged to post deals and specials to the page and the community is encouraged to join the group, support a local restaurant, and post/tag a picture showing their tasty breakfast, lunch or dinner takeout.
In an effort to support our non-restaurant businesses we created the “Don’t Isolate . . . Virtually Congregate Page” on March 26 where businesses are encouraged to post YouTube Videos and links to LIVE Classes to help gain visibility for their business and help the community get some activity and entertainment while sheltering in place. Videos currently submitted include fashion shows, paint nights, sing-a-longs, children’s book readings, stress coping sessions, interviews with local business owners, martial arts classes and even talking horses.
In partnership with the city of Morgan Economic Development Team and Visit Morgan Hill, the Chamber launched a COVID-19 Business Impact survey March 26 to weigh the effects of the pandemic on our business community. To date, we have received 135 responses. This data has been compiled and shared with city, chamber and elected officials at all levels of government in an effort to collectively communicate, support and advocate for you, our local business community.
Since the pandemic began our small staff has been tirelessly working to support you. Although information has been changing faster than the speed of light, we are dedicated to adjusting and expanding our Business Toolkit with the most up to date content covering financial resources, grant opportunities, tax extensions, COVID-19 SCAMS, Employee Workshare Program, CARES Act eligibility and more.
We attend daily informational webinars organized by the Small Business Administration, Better Business Bureau, Silicon Valley Organization and ManPower, sharing links with the best content out for businesses to watch at their convenience. Most recently the chamber has begun facilitating some virtual discussions of our own with guest speakers ranging from marketing professionals to elected officials.
As a divide and conquer approach to data collection we have launched a Business Advisory Group comprised of Chamber Board Directors, bank and business representatives who have each assigned themselves a topic for which they are responsible for research and education on. All information collected by this group is funneled to the Morgan Hill business community as an added layer of support material.
In the coming weeks we will continue to act as a resource for the business community. So please continue sharing your ideas, suggestions and feedback with our organization. We are committed to leading, advocating and supporting businesses and residents through the COVID-19 crisis and recovery so we can emerge from this period an even better brighter Morgan Hill.
