The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is launching the first round of Business Interruption Grants (BIG) by providing $60 million to businesses experiencing losses or business interruption as a result of COVID-19 related closures. The BIG Program is available for up to 3,500 businesses that experienced a limited ability to operate due to COVID-19 related closures. DCEO will begin distributing funds to qualifying businesses in early July. The total program funding will amount to at least $540 million in grants for small businesses, $270 million of which has been set aside for childcare providers and is funded by the CARES Act. In the first wave of grants, priority will be given to small businesses that have been heavily restricted or completely shut down during the pandemic. Additional priority will be given to businesses located in…
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Dear Chamber Members: Our businesses need you. Our community has seen the crippling effects of COVID-19 on small businesses nationwide. Businesses have closed. Employees have been furloughed or laid off. Events have been canceled. Nonprofits, such as the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce, have been hit especially hard. The Chamber can work remotely, but it cannot disappear. Our businesses need the Chamber for information, resources, and connections to survive. The Chamber staff has continued to provide valuable services to our members in the virtual realm during the pandemic crisis with consistent, timely and pertinent governmental action updates, professional seminars, financial support opportunities, as well as quickly adapting the Chamber’s normal connections and networking opportunities to the shutdown environment. And yet, the Chamber has also been forced to cancel various events over the past four months….
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The Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce’s Healthcare & Community Service Agency (CSA) Committee is once again collecting items for their annual Emergency Hygiene Kit drive now through July 31. Members are invited to help collect items in their office to donate to the cause. Items being collected include but are not limited to toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash, bar soap, kleenex, deodorant, lotion, wipes, lip balm, razors, women’s hygiene products, etc. Items must be able to fit in a quart-sized plastic bag. Items in the past have been distributed to local agencies including Call for Help, Project Compassion, Union United Methodist Church, and the Violence Prevention Center. Items can be delivered to the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce office Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm or you can call ahead to check…
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Leaders of Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) and HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital are calling on blood donors to step forward in support of the local blood supply. The need is being driven by increasing levels of activity at local hospitals and a high number of blood drive cancellations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, in conjunction with MVRBC, is hosting a blood drive on Tuesday, June 30 from 2:30-6:30 p.m. in MVRBS’s mobile donor bus, which will be parked in the hospital parking lot at 1 St. Elizabeth’s Blvd. in O’Fallon, IL. All donors MUST make an appointment, no walk-ins. To schedule a donation time, call MVRBC at 866-GIVE-BLD (866-448-3253) or log on to www.bloodcenterimpact.org and use Sponsor Code: 10155. All donors will also be required to wear a mask and present a photo…
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St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department has the opportunity to apply for some dislocated worker funding as a part of a disaster recovery grant. The funding can be used to hire temporary workers to assist with sanitation and COVID-19 related duties. If your business could use some funding to help with sanitation, meal delivery, or other tasks, please contact St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants department and let them know you are interested by Wednesday, June 3rd at 12:00pm. If you are interested in a project, they will need a work plan submitted as part of the process. Please contact Cindy Layman at clayman@co.st-clair.il.us.
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