Friends –
I hope you are all well and finding success in your response to the rapidly developing COVID-19 situation. I wanted to make sure that you had the full information on our response as stewards of the creative economy in Southwest Virginia.
Friends of Southwest Virginia, the Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Foundation and ‘Round the Mountain: Southwest Virginia’s Artisan Network are all working jointly to:
-
- Assist the entire creative economy and individual artisans, musicians, makers, outfitters, and businesses of the 19 counties, four cities, and 53 towns through the COVID-19 crisis
- Prepare to resume normal organizational operations, reopen the Cultural Center, and continue all marketing, regional community development, and Cultural Heritage programs running at full speed across the region to assist with regional economic recovery following the crisis.
All staff of the organization are working on programs to assist the entire creative economy and individual artisans, musicians, makers, outfitters, and businesses of the 19 counties, four cities, and 53 towns through the COVID-19 crisis and a future return to regional programming to benefit the creative economy.
As a result of recent conversations, we’ve developed the Creative Economy Recovery Plan and are beginning work immediately to help you recover the incredible creative economy work of the past 20 years in Southwest Virginia. From marketing assistance to artisan support, we’ve redesigned all our programs to focus exclusively on economic recovery for the creative economy.
Please feel free to reach out to any of our staff during this time with any needs and we will work to assist you however possible. All staff contact information can be found here: https://friendsofswva.org/staff-members/
Organization leadership will continue to evaluate the situation and react accordingly. Updates can be found at www.FriendsOfSWVA.org.
Virginia Department of Housing & Community Development: https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/covid-19
Virginia Tourism Corporation:
https://www.vatc.org/cv19businessresources/
Small Business Development Administration:
https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/
Opportunity Southwest Virginia:
http://www.opportunityswva.org/covid-19-resources-and-assistance-for-small-businesses-and-startups/
Rural Rise Resources:
https://mcusercontent.com/9a6d20450dabc61778cc347f6/files/d608eff5-94bc-4623-9f0e-5e61cebe9d59/2020_03_19_Rural_RISE_Hubs_Presentation_KF_FINAL.pdf
Virginia Folklife Program
https://www.virginiafolklife.org
Presentation from Roger Brooks provided by Virginia Tourism Corp: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lth4g1k152prhb4/Covid-19%20VTC%20.pdf?dl=0
SBA Disaster Relief Funding Program:
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance
Tourism Recovery Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TourismCOVID19/
Covid-19 resources from Southeast Tourism Society:
https://www.southeasttourism.org/coronavirus-updates
Virginia Mainstreet:
https://virginiamainstreet.com/
Grant Opportunities:
https://friendsofswva.org/grants/
CNA & CDC Certified Hand Washing Best Practices:
https://cnaclassesnearme.com/how-to-properly-wash-your-hands/