Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance raises $4,050 for 46 local businesses

MT. PLEASANT - In just two weeks, the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance raised over $4,000 to support local businesses. As part of their fundraiser, the organization sold T-shirts, hats, tote bags and face masks with the tagline 'Built With Heart.”

With each purchase, customers indicated three businesses they would like their purchase to support. In total, 46 local businesses will be given a share of the $4,050 raised.

Kristi Ray, executive vice president of the organization, said the Chamber was looking for ways to not only support small business but also bring the community together.

'We were seeing what other communities did as far as how they helped their businesses and we were trying to figure out something we could do. We saw what a great way it was for a community to get to wear their community pride and be able to give back to small businesses. This fit two different missions of ours,” Ray said.

The Chamber is now distributing the funds to restaurants and retailers in the area. Last Friday, Central Park Coffee Company and The Vintage Raven, who were the top two businesses voted to receive funds by customers, were presented their checks.

'I feel really blessed and I appreciate the continued business that they help support us through this time. It's been rough but we've tried to be creative … to try to meet [customers] where they are and make sure they're comfortable,” Tina Hill, owner of Central Park Coffee, said of the support of the community.

'[Their support] means a lot right now, especially with the coronavirus and closures,” Jen Riepe, co-owner of The Vintage Raven, said.

Sam Riepe added the Chamber and Main Street have been instrumental in supporting local business and rallying the community together.

'The Chamber and Main Street have been really important to small businesses in particular and downtown especially. The chamber did this to help out and Kristi and Lisa Oetken have been really good about sharing information with businesses, grants and loan opportunities - sources of information on how to keep your business afloat,” he said.

Though the fundraiser was a success, Ray said the Chamber's job is not done. She said it will be difficult to gage the true impact of the closures until they are over.

'A lot of people ask me what this is going to mean for our local businesses. That we don't know. We won't know until we see everything is opened up, how we [should] support them. So our work is not done with one fundraiser. For the next year and longer, we're going to have to shop local, dine local, play local,” she said.