Hays Post
The Hays Chamber has been forced to close its doors to the public due to the corona virus, but it is still working with local businesses and the community to weather the crisis.
Although the Chamber anticipates many Chamber events in the upcoming weeks will be postponed, the Chamber is still trying to keep businesses connected to the community.
Sarah Wasinger, Chamber director, said the Chamber is compiling a list of open child care providers. The Chamber will not be vetting the providers, she said.
Please contact the Chamber if you are a provider that is open or if you are in need of the list of child care providers.
"It is smart if you have the ability to shop local," Wasinger said, "you need to keep local businesses in mind. They don’t have support of a chain. Those who own businesses make a big impact on the community, and if you could support small businesses at this time, that would be very helpful."
The Hays Chamber issued the following statement Tuesday.
In times of crisis, it is important to know who you and your business can depend on to get you through. Our Chamber team is dedicated to being a champion for our businesses and community at-large.
The Chamber is implementing several strategies to help mitigate the negative economic impact that Coronavirus COVID-19 has caused.
- Chamber staff will be calling businesses to conduct wellness checks and verifying if there is anything we can do to be of assistance to your businesses. We will also be asking what each organization is doing to help safeguard our community from COVID-19 and disseminating that information out to the public.
- If your business is changing its regular operational procedures and offering services such as free shipping, curb-side delivery, or personal shopping, please be sure to share them with us so we can help spread the word.
- Effective immediately, The Chamber encourages members to tag @HaysChamber on all their social media posts to reach our followers so we can serve as a conduit of information for you.
- If you are aware of someone who can offer daycare or babysitting services, please call us so we can create a contact list for families in need.
- We encourage all businesses to login to their Membership Information Center (MIC) portal and update your business hours and information so we can make accurate referrals for you.
- If you lack the ability to advertise your business via social media, call The Chamber at 785-628-8201 to have staff organize posts for your business.
- If you are willing to volunteer time for business who are experiencing employee shortages, please call us to get your name on a list to be shared with businesses as needed.
Beginning March 17, the Hays Welcome Center building will be locked during regular hours of operation for the next two weeks. (This policy will be re-evaluated at that time and additional communication will be sent notifying everyone regarding any changes.) Chamber staff will still be on location to assist those in need by appointment. Please call 785-628-8201 or email [email protected] to schedule your appointments with staff.
The Chamber anticipates many events being postponed over the next several weeks. For a current listing of all Chamber events, visit https://hayschamber.com/events. Our team is committed to serving our member investors, and we look forward to hearing from you about additional ways we can assist you during this challenging time.
Stay safe and well!
Your Chamber Family
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FHSU mom, candidate has message about supporting local businesses
Republican congressional candidate Adrienne Vallejo Foster was in Hays Tuesday packing up her son, a freshman at FHSU after the dorms were closed due to the threat of the corona virus.
She said practicing social distancing is important, but she encouraged people to also find ways to support local businesses.
"If we can continue to help them in some way, that's going to be important," she said.
She was a Trump appointee to the Small Business Administration.
"Our small businesses are really the ones that are the economic drivers of our country, so making sure we are servicing them and seeing how we can help them survive this [is important]," she said.
In the spirit of supporting local businesses, the Foster family ordered a take out order from the Golden Q as they headed out of town.