05/15/2020 

Community Conference Call 05/19

The Hale County Chamber of Commerce is proud to host A Community Conference Call – “Reopening in a COVID-19 World” on Tuesday, May 19th, 2020 from 2:00 – 3:00 PM. The call is open to all – Chamber members and non-members alike. 

During this call you will hear from leading experts and practitioners about safety and wellness policies and procedures that can help as you reopen your workplaces and locations – businesses, churches, schools, and government facilities – to a COVID-19 environment. If you are a business owner, pastor, school personnel, employee, law enforcement, public official – or just interested in how to be safe.
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CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION
Dial-in:  (701) 802-5302
Code:  6813705#
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Please contact the Chamber at (334) 352-9080 or @halecountychamber on Facebook.

 

05/11/2020 

05/01/2020 

New CDBG GRANT Program

 The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is in the process of developing a special Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grant program to address COVID-19 impacts. 

MORE DETAILS WILL BE PROVIDED AT A LATER DATE; however, please download the guide below to get started and identify potential partners as needed.
CLICK HERE to download the Quick Guide to CDBG Eligible Activities to Support Infectious Disease Response that will assist applicants to begin thinking about possible project needs.
Please note that applications to the CDBG program must be in the name of a local government as the applicant/grantee. 

 

Emergency Relief Grants

The Alabama State Council on the Arts Now Accepting Applications for Alabama CARES About the Arts.

The CARES Stimulus funding will be distributed to eligible arts organizations of all sizes, with grants of $2,500, $5,000, $10,000, and $15,000.

The application portal is now open for submission for this emergency relief funding.

Please visit: http://arts.alabama.gov/cares.html

  • Grant Application – May 1 (beginning at 8:00 AM)
  • Deadline to Apply – May 15 (by 5:00 PM)
  • Grants Awarded – June 5

The $457,900 in stimulus funding from the National Endowment for the Arts is designated for the arts industry recovery effort in Alabama. 

This week’s RECOVERY ROUNDUP

From questions about PPP loans to funding opportunities to guides for reopening safely, there’s a little bit of everything in this week’s Recovery Roundup.

To have answers to all these questions, click this link.

UWA Black Belt Museum Face Masks

During COVID-19, UWA Black Belt Museum is using 3D Printers to provide face shields to the community.

Each shield costs $1.00 to produce. Even the smallest contributions can go a long way to helping them continue to provide these face shields for free.

Click here to donate. 

04/29/2020 

COVID-19 Screening Site

Last Screening Opportunity Until Further Notice

 

WHEN: Thursday, April 30 

TIME: 9:00 a.m. until noon

WHERE: Sumter Central (13878 US-11, York, AL 36925)

 

Provided by:

The University of Alabama’s University Medical Center and 

The Office for Research and Economic Development

 

in collaboration with 

The City of Livingston and Mayor Tom Tartt

Alabama Power Company

The University or West Alabama

Look for the crimson and white mobile medical vehicle unit. 

  • The team we will attempt to screen all who come during the designated time period. However, only those who meet current Alabama Department of Public Health guidelines will be tested. 
  • Tests are limited. 
  • You do not have to have health insurance to be screened.

04/28/2020 

Alabama’s New Safer At Home Order

Find here all the details of this order, that will go into effect April 30, at 5:00 p.m.

 

04/27/2020 

Download Here 

The Business Rights + COVID-19 resource, a guide to help businesses rehire laid-off employees when they reopen. 

The guide covers businesses’ legal rights for rehiring laid-off employees, the importance of communicating with laid-off employees and guidelines for reaching out to the Alabama Department of Labor if an employee refuses to return to work. The Department of Labor says that laid-off employees who refuse to return to active employment will no longer be eligible for unemployment benefits. 

 

Start the road to recovery for your business now.

As small businesses navigate the COVID-19 crisis, the CO.STARTERS Rebuild program provides entrepreneurs with a practical pathway and trusted tools to approach the market in new way.

Through UWA, full scholarships are provided for up to 20 seats across the region ( Sumter, Greene, Hale, Pickens, Marengo & Sumter counties). 

Sign up here.

04/26/2020 

– Opportunity Alabama needs your help! 

They are working with the Sorenson Impact Center and the Opportunity Exchange to develop a data-driven platfrom to help communities and businesses chart the post-COVID economic landscape. 

If you think you can help them find unique data points, build analytics, or create the platform, click here.

-Funding opportunities 

  • The West Alabama Regional Commission is providing assistance to small manufacturing, retail or service businesses that create or retain jobs and need support due to the economic impacts of Covid-19.  Application forms and information are available for download at www.warc.info.

  • As West Alabama unites together to support its small business community, the Small Business Relief Fund has been established to quickly administer much needed funding during these challenging times. Donate to the fund here. Apply for assistance from the fund here.

There are also many other funding opportunities available. Visit www.altogetheralabama.org for the most up-to-date list of available resources.

04/25/2020 

Call on Your Chamber 

In an effort to support the businesses in our community, The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama has been hosting a series of conference calls and webinars to help businesses and their employees weather this storm. 

To get recordings of the past webinars and to register for the upcoming events hosted by The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, click here.

04/23/2020 

Download Here

The WORK HARD-WORK SMART-WORK SAFE Playbook for reopening your business in the age od Covid-19.

 

04/22/2020 

04/23/2020 The Path Forward: Business Reopening and Workplace Safety 

Businesses of all sizes are looking for answers on how to develop responsible COVID-19 and reopening strategies. What measures should I take to protect my team members and customers? What is safe distancing in my environment? Do we need to wear gloves, masks and shields? How do I pay for all of this? This Zoom webinar will provide an update on the latest information related to business restrictions and feature insight from area business leaders on measures to promote a safe workplace when restrictions are lifted.

Register here: https://bit.ly/3bww08r

-Resources available 

Visit www.altogetheralabama.org for the most up-to-date list of available resources. 

 

04/16/2020 

– SBA Disaster Loan: Lapse in Appropriations
“SBA is unable to accept new applications at this time for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)-COVID-19 related assistance program (including EIDL Advances) based on available appropriations funding.
Applicants who have already submitted their applications will continue to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.”

-PPP Loan Fund will likely be exhausted today.
As of 8PM CT last night (4/15), $324 billion had been allocated, or 93% of the total fund. If approvals continue at their average rate of $2.8bn an hour, the remaining funds will be allocated by the end of the day.