The Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce During the Pandemic
Ever since the pandemic grew in urgency in March, the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce team has been on alert of our members. The Chamber team was quick to build a webpage within 24 hours from the time everything began with resources as they came in, sometimes multiple times daily, and sent detailed e-mails to our members in ways that they could more easily understand what their options were. We have been in constant contact with our State Representatives and local officials to help keep our Chamber members and the community up-to-date on what was happening and the resources available to them. We have hosted many webinars and online meetings that have provided valuable information for our members. We have testified for the recovery task force for the State of Illinois. We also have a direct line to the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity and trust us, it has been used. In the heaviest time of it all, we also put out calls for help to collect PPE for our area hospitals and were wildly successful. In addition to this, we posted daily “Feel-Good Stories of the Day” on social media and sent out via e-mail of the people and businesses in our community that were doing great things for one another to help bring some happiness to that darkened world.
Many hours have also been spent consulting with other chambers around the state, on calls with the US Chamber of Commerce, the SBA, and wherever else we can to obtain valuable information to pass on to our members. This information has been provided to and available to all of our members at no cost, even to non-chamber members in our community. Our team has answered many of our Chamber members’ questions at all times of the day and weekend, many who have thanked us for all we have done as they would not have been able to navigate thru this pandemic without the support of the Chamber and that their investment has paid off. Recently the Chamber also stood up for our business community by writing a letter to the governor asking to help change area mitigations to help keep our business community afloat.
The Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce, like many other organizations, has also been hit hard. The Chamber is a membership-based not-for-profit organization that supports and advances business and community interest, as well as the quality of life in Belleville and surrounding communities. We have over 550 members that count on us for support and communications now more than ever. Like most organizations, the Chamber has also been forced to cancel various events over the past six months and will continue to only host online events for the remainder of 2020. We have seen great revenue losses due to these restrictions but want you to know that we are still here for you and doing all that we can during these trying times to help you and your business not just survive, but hopefully thrive.
As the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce, we want to encourage you to help support us so that we can continue our mission of “Advancing Business, Supporting Community.”
Ways to support the Chamber:
• Continue your membership investment with the Chamber.
• Follow our social media pages on Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter.
• Engage with and share our posts and messages via social media.
• Invite outside business members to online events and/or to become members.
• Attend online and in-person events as they allow.
• Be a speaker for one of the Chamber webinars, Lunch & Learns, or Young Professional events.
• Participate in this year’s Virtual Chili Chase 5k (online registration closes Sept. 20).
• Make donations to or sponsor a future Chamber event.
• Reach out and ask the Chamber what you can do!
Thank you to all of our members that have stood beside us through the hard moments and for your continued support. You are appreciated. Do not hesitate to reach out and let us know how we can help you.
