Traditionally, the evening before Salter's Annual Fall Sales Event, Chamber members will gather for a sneak-peak mixer to network and shop the public sales event. For the safety of our members, business, and community, the sneak peak mixer will not be held this year. However, PV Chamber members are invited to visit Salter's during the Annual Kickoff Sales Event on Friday, September 11th 10am - 8pm and Saturday, September 12th 10am- 6pm. Plus be entered to win a $2,000 Gift Certificate to Salter's! Visitors on Friday receive 2 entries/household into the raffle drawing!

We hope to share a sneak peak of the sales event with our members on FaceBook...look for details in next week's enews.

www.salters.com

Good news/bad news to share for restaurants this week. The good news is the Wolf Administration announced updated guidance that will allow restaurants to open at 50 percent capacity. Under the new guidance, restaurants may open at 50 percent of normal capacity beginning on September 21. Although the new guidelines will help some establishments, the Wolf Administration’s new prohibition on alcohol sales after 10 p.m. will be extremely difficult for other businesses to manage.

It was exciting to see PV Chamber member, Renji Kurup, owner of Mathnasium of Collegeville, featured on NBC 10 last week! Renji explained how Mathnasium provides math tutoring for children from Kindergarten through 12th grade, offering both in-person and virtual instruction. Their new service offering, Prime Study Space, supports families and students by providing a safe and engaging environment for students where they can work on their academic or school-related tasks. Some employers are providing employee subsidies for this type of service. If you missed the segment on NBC 10, you can view it here.

Tomorrow marks the 19-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Flight 93 that crashed in western Pennsylvania. In the words spoken by the late Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl, “If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.” These words give new meaning as our society fights for equality and inclusion. Let us not forget the events of 9/11 and let us live with love in our hearts.

Small business is the backbone of our regional economy. Please look for ways to support these businesses during the pandemic. Please visit the Chamber Directory for a complete list of members. Consider purchasing gift cards for businesses that are not currently open (salons, restaurants, spas, retailers, etc) to support them now and use at a later date. Please call your senior neighbors and friends to lift their spirits and ensure they have food and proper medication. Contact the Community Food Pantry for updated hours of operation and needed supplies.  

Please share your positive experiences with others and on social media platforms to help promote and support our local businesses. Should you have a less than satisfactory experience, please be patient; relay your concerns privately with the store manager so he/she can evaluate the issue and consider ways to improve for future visits.TOGETHER we will reset, restore and rebound our community!

Bartlett Blinds 

The Physical Therapy & Wellness Institute Royersford

veJov Design, LLC 

The COVID-19 PA Hazard Pay Grant Program was established to help employers provide hazard pay to employees in life-sustaining occupations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

Senator Bob Mensch presents Zooming Around the 24th District, a series of virtual meetings with local businesses and organizations to discuss the experiences they have had during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of these meetings is for businesses to stay in touch with their communities, and for us to spread the word about some of the challenges facing our local businesses during this time. Watch the meetings here: https://www.senatormensch.com/zooming-around-the-24th-district/

PA 30 Day Fund , provides forgivable loans for Pennsylvania-based small businesses and is eager to see an increase in applications from eligible small businesses in Montgomery County, particularly in applications from eligible minority and/or women owned businesses.  The forgivable loan is intended to provide immediate financial assistance (within maximum 3 days).

 PA Department of Labor and Industry

As you are recovering from the businesses shut downs, this is an opportunity to rebrand and polish your new image. Let us know if you have any photography needs. We have implemented contactless protocols to keep you, your staff and family safe. Contact us for more info: https://www.scilliaphotography.com/contact

Please fill out this form with as much details as possible to indicate your interest. We will review the submission within 2 business days. Appropriate opportunities will be shared with our students within 5 business days or less. While we hope you will receive interest from our students, we cannot guarantee applications. Please note that Ursinus College reserves the right to determine the eligibility of a posting and to delete postings deemed unsuitable for our students. 

Learn how to exercise your right to vote. This guide will help connect you with Pennsylvania's voting and election services including voter registration, mail-in ballot, absentee ballot, polling places, and more. www.pa.gov/guides/voting-and-elections

Please visit MontcoPARecycles.org, email recycling@montcopa.or, or call the recycling line at 610-278-3618. Please do not contact the host sites, as they are not affiliated with the events. In case of severe weather, call 610-278-3618, option 6 for event status. Free residential collection events are held outdoors from 9am - 3pm.

PA Career Link of Montgomery County is relocating from 1855 New Hope Street, Norristown, PA to a newly renovated location within the Human Services Center (HSC) at 1430 DeKalb Street, Norristown PA. The new office is scheduled to open to the public by appointment only on August 17, 2020.

Montco Strong Small Business Grant Round 3 awardee list has been posted and can be found HERE. 60 grants for a total of $631,500 awarded.

As of 9/10/20, the countywide response rate is more than 20% shy of 100% participation. This equates to about $288 million plus in federal funding per year for the next ten years that the county misses out on (every %5 of an undercount is about $72 million in annual funding). Census results help determine how billions of dollars in federal funding flow into states and communities to support infrastructure, schools, Medicaid, SNAP, housing choice vouchers, head start, senior programs, and more! You can view the latest response rate at the county and community level here.

Visit www.2020census.gov

Montgomery County is asking for donations for commercial masks, surgical masks and impervious (waterproof) gowns. Any business that has an interest in or capacity to turn their existing supply chain into the PPE output that the health care industry so desperately needs to please contact Montgomery County Commerce Department by emailing: COVID19@montco.org.

Montgomery County released guidance for reopening Pre-K to 12 schools for Fall 2020. Montgomery County officials and the Montgomery County Office of Public Health in collaboration with Montgomery County school superintendents have developed general recommendations to support the prevention of the spread of coronavirus in the school environment as they plan to open for the 2020-21 school year. The complete recommended guidelines can be found here.

Montgomery County is now offering free COVID-19 testing, for all ages, at six sites across the county. This testing is made possible by CARES Act funding that has been allocated directly to the County.

MontcoStrong T-Shirts are for sale as a great initiative through our partners at VFTCB. The t-shirt fundraiser is to help support Montgomery County PA’s COVID-19 Response Fund, which was recently established to support local relief efforts in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The t-shirts can be purchased here